How to Ask
by general wildcat
Summary: Hopefully to be a collection of oneshots showing all the different ways a certain curly haired guy could ask that big question to a certain brainy girl. C&T of course! Rated T just in case.
1. Feelings Revealed

Ok so it's past midnight now when I'm done typing this, and I shouldn't even be up this late cause I got class at nine a.m. tomorrow. But I was surfing the web earlier trying to figure out what to do cause I was bored outta my mind. I was short on ideas for my songfics and story and I was afraid I wasn't gonna have any other ideas after those were done. So bam, that's where this came from. You know it's C&T. A bunch of oneshots that can reveal all the different ways to plop that question to that special someone. ^^  
And as usual I do not own HSM or the characters. So each chapter in here after this one I will mention at least one thing I'd change about HSM cause I know all you guys would change more than one thing too, if you could.

* * *

Sunset. Summer. Four years. Time.

It was all Chad Danforth had thought of for some time now. He had the time of his life in high school and had completely lost it college. No, we're not talking about literally the best four years of a person's life and then throwing it away with wild college parties along with their future. He had a completely different picture in mind. High school wasn't the best time in Chad's life just because that's what it was to some people. It wasn't because he was named one of the best basketball players on East High's team. It wasn't because he became captain of the baseball team and then co-captain of the basketball team. It wasn't because he was one of the most popular guys in school. It wasn't because of any reputations he had. High school had been the only four years that he could ever get close to her. Yes, _her_.

Taylor McKessie.

She was the opposite of him in so many ways. She was smart and he was clueless. She was graceful and he was athletic. She was compassionate and he was egotistical. She was classy and he was crazy. She was serious and he was funny. She was stubborn and he…well, he was just as stubborn.

Break it down a bit, shall we? Chad had first met Taylor in elementary school. They automatically didn't like each other. They argued and were sworn enemies. In middle school they grew even further apart and were proven to be on opposite sides of the school's clique system. He a jock and she a nerd. And high school was when he fell for her. He got past everything they didn't have in common. He could see the real her. Taylor suddenly just have brains, class, compassion, or any of that stuff. She had beauty. She had real friends. She had passion. Chad looked at her and suddenly saw not just the smartest girl in school but the most beautiful. Those four years in high school were the closest he ever got to her. Chad knew then that it wasn't just some fling or a relationship that was never meant to last. He knew it was real. He knew it was love.

And when Chad Danforth fell, he fell hard.

Nearly two years they dated. Chad took a chance and asked her out one day. She could have sworn he was crazy. And then Chad gave her all the reasons why she should go on a date. He had kept a close eye on her; he knew that she never really dated anyone. As far as he knew, she never even had a crush. But it all changed with Chad. Something inside of her convinced her to say yes, and Chad promised her it would be the best night of her life. And it was. Chad let her see the real him more than even his best friend. He wasn't just another basketball player that night; he was so much more.

But thanks to the typical reminder that was their future, college had to ruin it all. Chad would be dorming upstate in New Mexico and Taylor would be going half way across the country. Keeping in touch would become harder. They would hardly ever see each other. The perfect relationship they had going would be over. And the one thing that Chad regretted the most was that he never told Taylor how he felt about her. How he always felt about her. How in love with her he was.

But tonight that was all going to change. It was the first night that college officially ended for both of them. Chad knew Taylor would be back in New Mexico today if she wasn't already. He was going to jump in and make his biggest move ever.

One could tell from his attire that Chad was serious. His outfit resembled something almost like a tux. He had a cotton white shirt covering his torso, he could describe, though he wasn't sure if he was describing the shirt or his body part right. Yes, that's how clueless he was. Either way it was a white button-down shirt made of a soft material. Over that he had a velvet black jacket with a dark gray collar and cuffs. His pants were just as black as his jacket, and around his neck was a red bowtie. Red was his favorite color, after all. And what looked like a corsage on his jacket, it was really a purple flower. Why? Purple was her favorite color. On his feet looked like black tap dance shoes, but they were really just fancy black shoes.

His chocolate colored eyes were filled with nothing but hope as he stared at himself in the mirror. The light from his bachelor pad only made his dark skin seem faintly lighter, though it still matched his eye color. And his abnormally curly hair looked more than decent for once. It grew much more in the past few years but he made it more than decent for the occasion. He stood tall at five foot eleven and if it weren't for his clothing one could see his muscular body so much better.

Chad took a long deep breath as he made sure he looked good. "This is it, Danforth. Now or never." He said to himself. "You can do this. You've been planning this long enough, you're gonna do it. Go get her." He nodded to himself as though he were really talking to someone else. He diverted his attention to his bed where a small velvet case lay. He gently picked it up and put it in one of his pockets. He snapped out of his thoughts once more as he looked down at his cell phone. It vibrated, telling him he had a new text message.

_The cheetah has pounced._

Good; now Chad knew for sure where she was. Let's just say he called in a favor. Hey if he didn't he'd never know where to find Taylor tonight. And he needed to talk to her more than anything. He loosened his shoulders a bit and tilted his head a few times, then gently slipped one of his jacket sleeves up so he could see the watch on his wrist. 6:01.

"I'm goin in."

C T A H Y L A O R D

It was a gentle summer breeze. The sun was setting. The waves were gently crashing down onto the sand. There was a light aura in the air. It was comforting and relaxing.

That was what Taylor McKessie was focusing on now. Not the fact that she was a college graduate and now, in her opinion, an official adult. If she hadn't gone at it alone then college would have been the best four years of her life. It was Taylor's chance to start focusing on her dreams, to make them all come true. It was her chance to prove that she could live far away from home and stand tall and proud on her own. It was the next chapter in her life. A new journey. A fresh start. But that was just it. It meant she was going at it alone. She had gone to a completely different college from all of her friends. They were practically spread out across the country now. Taylor wanted to be at the top. She wanted to be the best in everything and anything that she did. But even she knew it was lonely at the top. And not a day went by that she hadn't thought of him. You guessed it, _him_.

Chad Danforth.

So many years ago Taylor thought he was just a lunkhead basketball man. He only cared for sports and himself like nothing else mattered. Taylor was appalled at how shallow and self-centered he was. All throughout elementary school she despised him from day one. During all of middle school the only time she would look at him was to insult him. And in high school…well, let's just say it was a big change for Taylor. At first he was still the guy she loathed with all her might. But something changed during those four years. There came a point where they had started arguing and it ended with him asking her out. Taylor thought it was completely ridiculous. And then he started naming all of the positive things about her. All the reasons why she should go out with someone and why a guy would like her. That's the last person she would have expected any compliments from. It was almost as though he cared. So she agreed to the date.

And the more time she spent with him, the more of him she got to see. Deep down, Chad was really so much more than just some popular jock who was full of himself. There was so much more to him deep down. He was funny. He was strong. He was caring. He was gentle. He was sweet. All of those things Taylor had never expected from Chad. And yet there they were in plain sight. And slowly but surely Taylor had begun to fall for him.

And when love struck Taylor McKessie the whole world stopped spinning.

Chad was the last person she would have expected to fall in love with. But much to her discomfort, or at least surprise, it happened. And she slowly began accepting it. From the first time they kissed Taylor knew what they had was special. It went on like that for nearly two years. But even she knew that all good things had to come to an end. She and Chad couldn't be together forever. Their futures were calling. Taylor was headed East and Chad was staying closer to home. And as much as it broke her heart, they had to end it. She wished that it had never happened.

So now here she was at the beach that she and Chad had gone to together so many times. She could remember spilling her heart out to Chad right on that very ground. Confessing to him that before her parents divorced the family would always come to the beach on summer nights to watch the sun set. Confessing her dream of one day owning a beach house or living by the sea. Her ambition to see the world and all it had to offer. Even confessing that she liked Chad more than she imagined. But much to her regret, she didn't confess her love for him.

And for such a wondrous place of memories she seemed to dress so casual. A lavender t-shirt covered the upper part of her body and a pair of black caprice hugged her long legs. On her feet were nothing but backless sneakers and around her wrist was a single bracelet. Her body was that perfect shade of coffee and her figure was slightly slim yet fitting. Her skin was smooth and hardly any makeup covered her face. Her once wavy and tangled black hair was now cut shorter and done straighter. Cut on a bit of an angle it went down close to her chin and her bangs hung towards the right side of her forehead, nothing located in the black sea but a single thin violet headband.

Taylor sighed to herself as she let the wind blow her bangs slightly. It felt so calming against her body even if she was so torn inside. But she had no idea that tonight was the night it would all be sewn up and her heart put back together.

It was almost time.

C T A H Y L A O R D

Chad slowly stepped onto the beach, his vision clear in his mind from the second his feet touched the sand. He had to find her; he knew he was here. This was the time. In the faint distance he could see her. She looked so relaxed. So at peace. So lost in her mind. If only he knew how wrong he was. Chad slightly cleared his throat as he stepped closer.

"Taylor."

She blinked and slowly turned her head. Taylor couldn't believe what she saw. Right there in the flesh, there he was. There was Chad. Practically a few feet away from her. But what was he doing here?

"Chad?"

He took a deep breath and walked over to her. He held out his hands to her and she took them. "Long time no see." He spoke, trying to fill the silence in the air even though they seemed lost in each others' eyes.

"You look amazing Chad." Taylor observed. "Why are you so dressed up? Did you get accepted to a good team?"

"Let's just say tonight's something really special." Chad stated.

Taylor seemed a bit perplexed. She lifted one of her hands and gently ran it down his chest. The texture of his jacket felt so comforting. Even through that and the shirt she could swear she felt his muscles. He had gotten so much taller, still towering over her five foot three figure. And his hair…man how it looked so good. She could remember running her fingers through those curls. And then he would put his hand over hers and promise her hand wouldn't be engulfed by his uncontrollable curls. It had always made Taylor laugh. He had always made her laugh.

"It must be something really special for you to dress up so much." She said softly.

"I dress to impress." Chad said with a small smile.

"It has to be important." Taylor stated. "Did you come to ask for my opinion?"

"Not completely." Chad admitted. "But trust me, I wouldn't be here with you if it wasn't important. And everything we do is important to me."

Taylor blinked. She knew he was trying to tell her something. But it felt like his odd basketball guy riddles or something. She just wished he wouldn't pick now of all times to toy with her mind. All Taylor wanted to do was wrap her arms around Chad and hug him close to her. She wanted them to be together again. And she was starting to get the vibe that it wouldn't happen.

"Where exactly are you going with this?" she wondered.

Chad took his free hand and removed the flower from his jacket. He smiled and handed it to Taylor. "For you."

Taylor's eyes widened as she slowly accepted the flower. "Chad it's beautiful." She gasped.

"Good." He smiled. "Cause there's more for you than that."

Taylor looked up at him. She couldn't help but smile. So he had something more in store for her. If he was luring her in then he was doing a good job of it.

"Where are you going with this Chad?" she inquired, amazed at herself with how calm she was being.

"Someplace that I should have gone a long time ago." Chad confessed. "Give me five minutes and I'll explain everything to you. When I'm done, all I'll need is one word. Believe me, you'll know what the word is when I'm done."

Taylor nodded. She was ready to listen. She's waited four years to hear Chad's voice again. It had to be something important or he wouldn't be dressed in fancy clothing in front of her right now.

Chad took a deep breath and began. "You have no idea how happy you always made me Tay. There are so many reasons why a person has to like you. There's almost no way a single person could hate you. I thought for so long that I really did hate you. You always said that there was no exact opposite to hate. But to me there is." he explained. "Hate is a strong dislike for someone or something, never even being able to do so much as tolerate it. The opposite of that would be to have a passion for someone or something and not be able to live without it. And that's what I have for you. That's what I've always had for you. It took me so long to realize that. And I had so many chances to tell you but I could never do it. Maybe it was because I was nervous for once in my life. Maybe I was scared of being rejected. Maybe I just never found the right time." Chad took a pause before he continued, making sure he had everything just right. "But I can't put it off any longer. This is the place and this is the time. I lost you once, Taylor. I'm not gonna take a chance and lose you again. This is where that one word comes in." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the velvet case. "I love you Taylor. And I don't want anyone else to have those feelings for you but me. I don't want anyone else to tell you that and I couldn't stand it if you told someone else those words. That's why I have to ask you this now. Taylor...is there any chance I could ask for you to marry me?" That's when he opened the case and revealed the ring inside.

Taylor's eyes widened. This was not happening. He did not just.... Everything she wanted to hear from him he was spilling out to her right now, in a spot so special to them. To say the least, she was in complete shock. Here they were, talking for the first time in four years and Chad was asking her the question. He was revealing his true feelings for her. He was saying everything he always wanted to. Taylor couldn't just answer wih one word. He had that whole speech prepared. And that ring...a perfect gold ring that was at least a couple of karots. Who even knew how long Chad was planning this? She had to answer with more than just one word. Not even the one word she wanted to say as much as he wanted to hear could truely express her feelings.

"Chad, that is..." Taylor paused and put her hand over her mouth to get her thoughts together. She slowly removed her hand and blinked back tears. "That is probably one of the most sweetest things I ever heard. I can't believe you went through all that trouble just for me." She took a step closer to him. "You don't need fancy clothing or big speeches expressing your feelings to impress me. If you had just come out about how you felt in two words or less and then asked me my answer would still be the same. You mean a lot to me and you can only imagine how long I wanted to hear anything like that. How long I was even thinking that. I love ou, Chad. You mean the world to me and that's never going to change. I could never have the heart to say no to you."

"So does that mean...?" Chad asked, his smile growing and hope rising in his eyes.

"Yes!" Taylor exclaimed. She jumped up to his level and wrapped her arms around his neck. Chad replied with a huge smile and wrapped his arms around her waist. He practically spun her around as he hugged her close. They pulled away from each other slightly, their arms still around each other. They leaned in and shared a passionate kiss. Taylor ran her fingers through Chad's hair and deepened the kiss. Chad kept one arm tight around Taylor's back and managed to slip the ring on her finger and then tucked his hand behnd her head, her hair falling on top of his hand. And then as soon as the water moved in and hit Chad's feet, he jumped and pulled away from Taylor.

Taylor only replied with laughter. "What, you really can't handle some cold ocean water?" she teased.

"Let's see how you like it." Chad teased with a smile. He playfully pushed her into the shallowness of the ocean and she ended up dragging him down with her. They could feel the cold water rushing through their bodies as they lay in the wet sand, Chad on top of Taylor. Taylor laughed and smiled and Chad replied with a smile of his own. He leaned in and kissed her once more and she kissed him back. Even the cold water didn't make then pull apart. And when they finally did a few minutes later all Chad could do was stare into Taylor's eyes.

"We have a lot of catching up to do don't we?" he asked softly.

Taylor smiled warmly as her eyes met with his. "Yeah we do."

* * *

So that wraps up this first one. What do you think? Kinda mushy for my taste, but it's also part of my new year's resolution. I'm learning to tolerate romance more by reading and writing it. ^^ Two years in a row now and it's still going strong. Man it feels good to try and get that part out that you never thought you could write, you know? So I'll leave the author's note at this for now and i'll see when the next update is, assuming this one is liked first. xD And I realized how many typos I had in my other fics so I made sure to check this one as carefull as I could before putting it up.


	2. Secret

Ok so this is the second chapter in this series of oneshots. Probably not as exciting or as long as the first one, I'm afraid to say. I went back and forth between typing this and taking long breaks. Hey I was lazy. And school was really crazy. I woke up at six for an eight a.m. class and I foudn out that classes would be delayed till ten. So I got out of my first class andlost about an hour of the second one. And lemme tell you, it was snowing like heck today. Other than a really light snow, I have no experience driving in it. I was going at least ten miles under the speed limit when I drove and since I'm almost too short to reacht he top of my car to clean, I couldn't get the snow off of it; so when I drove snow decided to keep falling in front of the car and I had to drive slower. Not fun, huh? Oh and then when I went back to my car after my one and a half classes there was a giant puddle. Yeah, that's how wet it was today. You don't even wanna know how wet a lot of us got. So now it's just raining, but still wet. Still not fun. And I have on class tomorrow for two and a half hours so I'm hoping it's not too bad. Anyway, enough about that. What else is there to say here?  
Oh yeah, since I don't own HSM I'm taking the last line of the first a/n in each chapter to say one thing I would change about HSM is I owned it. So here's the first thing. Taylor and Kelsi should do a lot more singing, they have really strong voices. Don't save all the songs for Gabriella and Sharpay! And how about more duets with Chad and Taylor? They sounded pretty good together in HSM3, don't you think?

* * *

Gabriella Bolton and Taylor McKessie laid on the couch in the living room of Taylor's house flipping channels. It was a Friday afternoon and they were both off from work. Gabriella worked in the retail business and Taylor was a doctor.

"Ok we really need to find something better to do." Gabriella said, moving some brown hair out of her face. "We've been watching reruns of shows on the N all day we're not even teenagers anymore so why should we watch these shows?"

"Because evidently we have no life outside of our offices?" Taylor shrugged. "Either that or there was just nothing else on."

Gabriella giggled. "Maybe both." She said. "My only home life is at night."

"Gabriella I don't need to hear every detail about _that_ part of your life." Taylor stated.

"Oh I know." Gabriella sighed with a small giggle. "But at least I have one."

"Gabriella!" Taylor gasped. She took the couch pillow from behind her and threw it at Gabriella.

"Hey!" Gabriella replied, trying to defend herself. "I was just kidding." She picked up another pillow and threw it back. Before the girls knew it they were having a minor pillow fight. Yes, a pair of twenty-eight year old women were goofing off in their living room instead of talking anything business related.

"Whoa whoa whoa, what did we just walk in on?" Chad Danforth chuckled as he and Troy Bolton walked in.

"I think we've finally discovered why they're foreign territory." Troy joked. He walked over to Gabriella and wrapped his arm around her in a hug before kissing her. "Hey Gabs. How was your day off?"

"It was great Troy." Gabriella replied as she kissed him back.

"Get a room you two." Chad laughed.

"Well gee, if you wanted to kick us out of your house why didn't you just say so?" Troy asked.

Gabriella smiled and rolled her eyes. "Come on Troy. I'll drive us home." She offered as she headed to the door. "See you guys later!" she called to Taylor and Chad before walking out the door with Troy.

"See what you do Chad? You made our best friends leave." She whined playfully.

Chad stood behind Taylor and put his hands on her shoulders. "So that's how you great me when I come home?" he moaned.

"Oh alright." Taylor gave in. She leaned back so she was right under Chad, then leaned up and kissed him. "Happy?"

"Very." Chad nodded with a smile. "Now I gotta catch up with Troy for a minute before he leaves. I'll be right in." He headed out the door. "Yo Troy!" he called.

Troy was about to get into the truck when he turned and saw Chad. He told Gabriella he'd be right back, then went to talk to his friend. "Come to apologize?" he teased.

"You wish." Chad chuckled. He rubbed the back of his head. "Actually…I kinda came here for some advice."

"Yeah right." Troy laughed. "Very funny."

"No man, seriously." Chad said. "It's about Taylor."

"Oh man, you finally got her didn't you?" Troy sighed.

"What? No!" Chad insisted. "I don't know where to go with her next. Tay and I are doing great but I keep getting worried that it's not gonna last."

"You've been with her for as long as me and Gabriella. Do you know how long that is?" Troy questioned. "And every time you guys went through a breakup you got together two days later at most."

"About that…" Chad stuttered.

Troy pulled Chad over to the side so there'd be less of a chance that Gabriella would hear them. "What did you do?" he demanded.

"Look Tay and I have been living together for a year. We have fights less often than we always do. But before we ever moved in together I didn't exactly take the breakups so easily. So…there might have been a couple of times when I…"

"Dude, no." Troy moaned. "You didn't."

Chad nodded. "And if Tay ever finds out she'll want nothing to do with me."

"Then you gotta tell her." Troy insisted. "And make sure you tell her nothing but the truth. You gotta let her know that all those girls you went with are nothing compared to her."

"Dude you know she's not gonna go for that so easily." Chad sighed. "She'll still end up giving me the cold shoulder."

"Then do something big to prove to her that you want nothing to do with those other girls." Troy said. "If you want her that badly then you know what you have to do."

Chad thought about it for a minute. He remembered everything he and Taylor ever did together. They would make excuses just to see each other in school. They'd have long phone conversations even if it got them in trouble. They went to every dance together, every party together. They went to prom together. They endured things they didn't like to ensure the others' happiness. They always found a way to spend time together. Chad could never find the right words to express how he felt about Taylor. If he couldn't think how to tell her those, how could he get anything of the sort out of his mouth?

"Actually Troy, I think I know what I have to do. And I think it's the only way to really let her know how I feel." Chad said.

"So what are you gonna do?" Troy asked.

"I'll let you know how it turns out." Chad promised. "Thanks for the talk man. See ya later." He went back into the house.

Troy shrugged and got into his car.

Taylor turned to Chad when he walked back in. "What was that about?" she wondered.

"It's nothing, don't worry." Chad shook his head.

"Are you alright?" Taylor asked. "You seem distracted."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Chad nodded.

"Chad you can talk to me. I won't get that mad." Taylor promised. "We said we'd work out our differences when we agreed to move in together. And we've worked them out well. This isn't going to make a difference." She sat down next to Chad on the couch and gently rubbed his shoulder.

"Thanks Tay." Chad nodded. He stood up and walked upstairs. "I'll be right down. I just have to get something."

Taylor sighed and leaned up against the couch. She didn't know what was going on in Chad's mind. Sometimes he was just so difficult to understand. But Taylor knew how they felt about each other so why should they let petty meaningless problems get in their way? She turned her head to see Chad slowly coming down the stairs again. He seemed a bit nervous, like he was shaking nearly all over.

"Chad are you alright?" she asked, seeming concerned. "What's wrong?" She stood up and walked over to him. Chad held out his hand to Taylor and she took it.

"Tay you have no idea." Chad sighed. "But I just can't keep acting this way anymore. There's something that I have to tell you."

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "I'm not sure I'm liking where this is going." Taylor raised an eyebrow at him and slowly shook her head. "Chad are you hiding something from me?"

"Actually…yeah." Chad confessed. "And all I can say is I'm sorry. Taylor if I knew that our breakups wouldn't last I would have never even done what I did half those times. I'm not the guy you think I am." Taylor opened her mouth to speak but Chad stopped her. "Tay this is really hard ok? It's gonna kill everything you know about me but I wanna make it right. I wanna make it all up to you. Those girls that lasted one night, they never meant anything. It was a different girl every time but they were never able to compare to you. I don't even deserve a girl like you. I cheated ok? I admit it. It was wrong, stupid, unloyal, immoral and just everything that I knew I shouldn't do. But I did it anyway and I never should have. But I have to prove to you that it's never gonna happen again, that those days are gone. And now all I can do is ask…no, forget ask, beg…for your forgiveness. And to just let me prove to you that it'll never happen again." Grasping onto her hand tight, still not giving her a chance to say anything, Chad got down on one knee. He revealed the small case he was holding and flipped it open, which held a simple gold ring. "You're my world Tay. And I just wanna know…will you let me be yours?"

First of all, 'unloyal' wasn't even a real word. But Taylor didn't bother to correct him on that. She was caught up in everything else he had said. "Chad Danforth I can't believe you!" she yelled. "Cheating? Hooking up? So I guess instead of just hitting your head against the wall wondering what you did all you could do to forget about it was to just run to some other girl who didn't give a care about you at all. Did you even stop to think about my feelings in that, Chad?"

"Tay I know it was wrong." Chad blurt out. "All I need is one more chance. I can prove that I learned it was wrong…"

Taylor backed up and angrily moved her hand from his grasp. "And you have the nerve to just come to me with a ring after spilling that to me?" she continued, her voice rising. "Do you honestly think I'd ever want anything to do with you after you tell me all that? And why wait until now to tell me? If this has been going on for so long then why wait all this time before saying anything? Did you just want some one to satisfy you in a way I couldn't?"

"No, never." Chad insisted.

"You know what, just forget it. I don't want anything to do with you Chad Danforth. You might as well go find yourself another one of those flings because you're going to need it. We're finished, Chad. For good. I don't want anything to do with you anymore. I don't want to look at you, I don't want to talk to you, I don't even want to think about you." Taylor concluded.

Chad couldn't keep listening to this. All he wanted to do was try and prove to her that he knew what he did was wrong. He wanted to show Taylor that she meant more to him than any other girl has before. But she couldn't get past his affairs. Maybe he couldn't blame her for losing trust in him; if it were the other way around Chad probably would have acted the same way. But he didn't want to think about that now. All he wanted to do was just pull Taylor into his arms and get her to listen. But as soon as he reached for her she backed away even farther. She shook her head at him in a disappointed manner and stormed out of the house.

How could Chad be so stupid? He had been Taylor's world before. But that was all changed now. He probably had a good twenty other worlds or so. What would losing one meaningless world be anyway? Not like it would make a difference. All Taylor wanted to do was get away from Chad. She wanted him to be wiped away from her mind completely. She didn't want to live with him, see him, be with him, or anything. He hurt her and he caused her to lose all trust in him. Taylor didn't want to go back to him.

So then why couldn't she get him out of her head? He was all she could think about. Every time she walked past the littlest thing in the street she thought of Chad. Every time she closed her eyes she saw Chad. Everything she smelled reminded her of Chad's scent. Taylor desperately wanted to move on now and remove him from all thoughts in her head but she realized that she couldn't. That would mean that since the two of them started dating, all of those years would be a lie. Everything they went through together would mean nothing. Did that mean Taylor was ready to let it all go? That she could let herself go through with it?

+C&T+C&T+C&T+

"Yes."

Chad blinked as he slowly picked his head up. He had been going through a photo album looking at pictures of him and Taylor. He just thought back to the old days when it was only them, when things were good. Before he opened his big fat mouth. But when he lifted his head he was surprised at who he saw.

It was Taylor standing right there in the doorway. She was leaning up against the wall, her head up against it and was staring at him on the bed. She didn't look as angry as she did when she left. Something was different about her. She looked tired. Down. Lost. Hurt.

Chad slowly placed the book down as he walked over to her. He stopped a few feet short of Taylor and looked at her confused. "What are you talking about?" he wondered.

"About what you asked before." Taylor admitted softly. "I know what I said before…but I couldn't completely mean it. I can't stay away from you for even a fourth of the time that I claim I can. And I shouldn't have been as furious as I was before. I was only caught up in the thought of you cheating and not listening to anything else you said. My reaction was wrong and everything I said was wrong." She took a deep breath before she removed her head from the wall to look at him. "I'm glad you confessed about what you did and realized that it was wrong. But that doesn't mean you've completely won my trust back. I want you to truly show it and mean what you said."

"I don't blame you for hating me." Chad shook his head. "Everything you said…or yelled…I deserved every bit of it. But every time we break up we get back together right away and if I always knew that would happen you'd be the only girl ever in my arms. And I don't want to hold anyone else. I could never really be with anyone else."

"Then prove it to me." Taylor said.

Chad didn't even need to think for another second. He leaned in and kissed her deeply and passionately. He doubted she would return the action so Chad tried to make it as quick as possible. But much to his surprise Taylor did kiss him back. From that one action she could read his feelings. She could tell from the amount of love and passion he put into the kiss that he really did care about her, that it was never a lie. It was a slow and gentle kiss but it was all they needed. Chad wrapped his arms around Taylor's body and pulled her closer to him and Taylor placed her hands on his cheeks. They finally broke the kiss slowly and placed their foreheads against each other. Now they were just staring into the others' brown eyes feeling their breath on each other. Taylor's arms went around Chad's neck and Chad's hands went down to her waist.

After a few minutes of silence, Taylor had her voice heard. "Ask me again." she whispered.

Chad didn't even need to think twice. "Will you let me be your world Tay?" he asked softly.

""You already are." she answered with a smile.

Chad smiled back and pulled her in for another kiss. Taylor accepted and returned the action. Chad had even forgotten that the ring he had to give her was on top of the dresser in the bedroom. But when he realized it, he decided he'd wait until they were finished. No way he would let it on another girl's finger. But Taylor didn't even need the ring right away. Right now she was sure that only she was his and no one else was. No one else mattered. Chad felt like the luckiest guy on the planet now. He was able to prove himself again.

And as the pair sat down on the bed lost in each others' embrace they realized that they almost lost so much more than they thought. And they were just happy to have it all back.

* * *

Sorry for the long a/n on the top so I promise this one will be much shorter. I don't know if I'll update anything else tonight unless it's correcting typos or whatnot. I really should stop putting those off by the way. But if I don't update tonight, I'll see what I can get to tomorrow. Just playing it by ear and amount of laziness I guess. XD So lemme know what you think if you'd like and I'll let you go and read more stories now. Like I said, I like replying to reviews. So once again I'm gonna try and do that as much as possible even if it's just to say thank you. ^^


	3. Game Show

So this idea for a oneshot I came up with last night, but I didn't get to finish typing it till today. You know Deal or No Deal, right? Well before dinner tonight I was playing the game on my Nintendo DS and for some reason or another I imagined it was Chad playing the game. Yeah, I've been writing way too much. o_0 Anyway, I got to thinking, hey what if it had that certain ending to it? So let's see how this one turns over. I haven't watched Deal or No Deal in a while (and I don't own it either, by the way) so when a case is chosen I can't name every model. I don't even know if any of them have been changed. So I'm just gonna wing it. I think I'll even play the game on my DS as the story goes so it's something to work from. And in case you're wondering about the earlier outcome, the result was taking home $125,000 with the last large amount being $500,000 and three cases left. It turned out to be a good deal. ^^  
And now that that's over I shall say the next thing I'd change about HSM if I owned it. The whole thing can't be about Troy and Gabriella. The second movie was just the Troy Gabriella and Sharpay Movie. Don't you wanna see more of the other characters/couples, too?

* * *

Chad Danforth felt the adrenaline running through his body as he ran up to the stage. It was like prepping for a big basketball game; it was all or nothing. Now or never. Live or die. Eh, maybe that was a bit dramatic. But to Chad it was. He had traveled to the Deal or No Deal studio and actually had a chance to play the game. He was willing to play to win big money. Why? Let's just say he had his reasons.

Even for being on a taped show his attire was nothing out of the ordinary for him. His bright blue t-shirt read in yellow lettering: "Do Not Operate Without Manual". The jeans he had on matched the shading of his shirt nicely, though they were a darker shade such as navy blue or a tint or so lighter. His blue and white Adidas faintly echoed against the floor as he made his way to the center where the host of the show was standing. As he ran, his dark brown curly locks literally jumped up and down and extra bangs blew into his dark tanned face. His chocolate brown eyes glittered with emotions such as happiness, excitement, suspense, and nervousness. Finally, on his wrist rested two different watches, a black leather one and a basketball-patterned one that almost looked more for little kids than a twenty-five year old man.

Chad finally approached the hose of the show, happily shaking his hand. The host's skin tone was much lighter than that of Chad's and there didn't appear to be a single hair on his head. He was dressed in a black suit with matching shoes, a shirt underneath that appeared to be some kind of light red or salmon shade, and a dark red tie. It was none other than Howie Mandel who was greeting Chad and welcoming him to the show. The audience cheered for the contestant and their applause slowly died down as Howie began speaking more.

The first thing Howie noticed was the t-shirt Chad was wearing. "What's this?" he asked before reading the text out loud, "'Do Not Operate Without Manual'?" He teased Chad by backing away slowly, causing Chad and the audience to let out a laugh. "Should I be worried that you'll self-destruct during the game?"

"Of course not." Chad answered once the laughter died down. He was just always one to wear crazy shirts. "I have a lot of shirts like this. 'I Majored in Vacation', 'Laughing on the Inside', 'I'm With Crazy'…" He merely named a few, though with the last one he used his finger to mimic an arrow that pointed upwards at him.

Howie enjoyed contestants like this; it showed that they were ready to have fun. "So you like shirts like that, I gather." He noticed. "What else can you tell us about yourself?"

Chad clasped his hands together. "Well I'm from Albuquerque in New Mexico and I pretty much just graduated from the University of Albuquerque with a basketball scholarship and I'm lookin to hopefully get called up by a couple of teams."

"So you're a basketball fan then." Howie nodded.

"Yeah. Always have been." Chad replied. "I wanted to play for a big team like the Lakers since I was a kid."

"Well then we should see if you're as good as you say. Transfer all that energy you use on basketball to this stage and let's see if it gets you a victory. Because if it does…" This was the part Howie loved to pause at and build up the suspense, "…you could walk out here with one million dollars."

Chad cheered and pumped his fist into the air. "I'm ready."

"You ready to play?" Howie asked.

"I am ready to play." Chad nodded eagerly.

"Excellent, let's get started then." Howie declared. He turned Chad's attention to the twenty-six models each with their own respective cases. And, as Howie liked his models to match his attire, each woman was in a small red dress. They appeared to be a type of cocktail dress, each coming down to the knees and having a single thin strap on their shoulders. Along the bottom and across the waist were thin light pink patterns, though they were hard to make out from the distance the men were currently standing at. Chad had adored each of the models, always having one favorite over another. But in his mind, none of them could compare to the other woman he had on his mind.

Finally, Howie opened his mouth to speak again and explain the rules, as was required at the start of each game. "As you can see we have twenty-six models. Twenty-six cases. Each one has a different amount, the amounts were placed in the cases by a third party. We don't know which case has which amount. So first I'm going to ask you to pick your case. After that each round you'll choose a different number of cases. We'll start with six and decrease by one each round. Your goal is to get the lowest amounts possible. Whatever is in those cases is not in yours. You want to keep the high amounts in play for as long as possible." He clapped his hands together and briefly turned to face Chad. It was only half of the game he explained after all, but the second half would come in due time. Or at least after the first round. "Now Chad, have you thought about which case you would choose?"

That was a tough question to answer. He had thought it over numerous times over and over again. He liked so many of them for a different reason. "Well, it's a tough choice Howie." He finally said, amazed at how calm he was. "I have a lot of choices in mind but I think there's only one number for me. My jersey number has always been eight, so that's why I'm going with case eight."

The audience clapped as, in the second row, the model beside case eight picked it up and brought it down. She placed it on the glass table with a smile before walking off. Chad smiled as he briefly ran his hand down the case, having a good feeling about it.

"This is your case now. You can do whatever you want with it." Howie said. "You can choose to keep it throughout the entire game or you can sell it, but we'll talk about that later. So, now we can begin the game. We'll start round one with those six cases. You pick one and the respective model will open it. Chad, you may now pick your first case."

Chad nodded. He bit his tongue as he ran it around his mouth. Every case except eight was available now. "I would say my first case has to be ten. That's how long I've known my girlfriend."

Howie pointed to the blond model beside case ten. "Anya, open your case."

She obeyed and opened it with a smile. A $10,000 ticket was revealed. Chad cheered; it was a good start.

"Not bad. Somewhere in the middle." Howie noted. "Pick your next case."

"I'm taking a liking to twenty-one, Howie." Chad answered.

"Alright then." Howie faced the model and told her to open the case. It was $75,000. Chad had a look on his face that said, "Eh not too bad." Howie nodded, "You're still doing good. But try to keep away from the right side."

"Then I'll go for someone on the left." Chad decided. He snapped his fingers and pointed to the first one he saw, "Nineteen." The case was then open and a thousand dollars was revealed. Chad seemed much more pleased with that. Howie gave him the okay to continue, and Chad went on. "I think I'm gonna go for twenty-four this time." He said. "That's about how many years my folks were together."

"Let's see if it's a good choice." Howie said. "Open the case."

The case was slowly unlocked before the top was let down. It was even better than the first three, fifty bucks to be precise. Now Chad was even more thrilled.

"That's what we're looking for." Howie said, feeling the energy from the crowd. "You now have two more cases."

"Then I'm gonna go with number two." Chad said.

Once again it was a good choice. Only a hundred dollars. "You now have one more case. Choose wisely." Howie announced.

Chad nodded and pointed at case seven. That was the worst choice so far; it had $400,000 in it. Chad moaned and leaned back on the glass table.

"It's ok, you had a good round overall." Howie said with encouragement. "So now we're going to talk to the banker. He wants you to walk out with as little money as possible. He wants to see you get those high numbers."

And, as if right on cue, the phone on the table rang. Howie answered it and began talking with the banker, whose silhouette shadowed overhead in his own little room. "Uh-huh…ok…I see then…. Ok, I'll tell him." He hung up and turned to Chad, "Well it seems the banker is having mixed feelings about you. He thought you were doing just horribly until that last case. So he wants to see how far he can get you with. His first offer is $30,000. So it's your choice. Deal or no deal?"

Just as Howie opened up the case on the table, revealing a blinking button, Chad closed it automatically. No one ever took the first deal. "I'm still goin man."

As the audience cheered him on, Howie instructed him. "You now have five cases to open."

"Well, I think I'm gonna choose eighteen." Chad said. "I got a good feeling about that one."

"You heard him." Howie told the model. "Open the case."

And Chad's suspicion was right; it only had five hundred dollars. Chad cheered and jumped right into the next case. "I play basketball with my best friend and his number has always been fourteen. He's gonna kill me if I don't pink that number."

So case fourteen was opened. That was Chad's best case so far. It had the penny, the one that every contestant dreamed of getting from case one. Chad jumped and cheered as applause from the crowds ran through the studio.

"And now I see why he would have killed you if you didn't pick that case." Howie joked. After a light chuckle he said, "Pick your next case."

Things were going good for Chad; his next choice was twenty-three. It was just as good as the one before; only ten dollars. With two cases to go Chad then went with four, as it was the age difference between him and his elder brother. He was still going strong, only opening $750.

"You now have one more case to open." Howie said.

"Well Howie, some people have a fear of thirteen. They say it's unlucky. But I've got a strong feeling about it." Chad replied. "So I'm goin for thirteen."

Howie faced the model. "Leyla, open the case please."

She obeyed his instruction, "Let's see if it's luckier than some people think." That was the longest pause with opening a case so far. Chad clenched his teeth together as he watched. He then saw Leyla smile as she said, "I think we can make it work." She revealed $25,000.

Chad grinned contently, happy to avoid the six figures. But he wasn't out of the woods yet. The phone rang and Howie answered.

"Hello Mr. Banker." He greeted. There was about a minute wait as he talked to the banker before hanging up and turning back to Chad. "The banker's starting to have his doubts." He spoke. "He says it's nothing but pure luck. And that after choosing thirteen, yours is going to run out."

"Oh, come on." Chad moaned. "No way, I am on a roll here."

"Well let's see what you think of this offer he's giving." Howie replied, opening the case and Chad could see the button inside blinking again. Man why was it always blinking red? That never meant anything good. "His offer is $85,000."

Chad's jaw dropped. Man, what an increase. Just as he was about to speak, Howie pointed over to the couch on the side. "But remember, you're not in it alone. This is the round where you can start asking your closest friends for their opinions. They are here to help you decide."

More applause came as the three adults jumped up. The first one was about the same height as Chad, and had a paler skin color. His distinctive feature was a pair of blue eyes and his brown hair was the perfect combination of shaggy and tamed. He looked about as athletic; he wore a Celtics basketball jersey and a pair of baggy blue jeans to match. Next to him was another man around the same age. He was a bit more lanky and a pastel shaded hat covered his blond hair. His button-down shirt was mainly stripes of pastel colors, though a light brown was plastered on in a few spots as part of the pattern. He also seemed to have on a pair of sepia colored designer jeans and what looked like to be tap-dancing shoes. And next to him was a much shorter woman, about the same skin tone as Chad. Her straight black hair was almost down to her shoulder blades and her bright brown eyes were all on him. A lavender scarf rested around her neck along with a darker purple sweater vest and whit t-shirt underneath, black leggings, and black flats.

Howie walked over to the three lifelines as he did every other game. He started out with the first guy. "Welcome to the show. And you are?"

The man smiled and shook Howie's hand. "I'm Troy Bolton. I've known Chad forever. He's like a brother to me."

"Then you're bound to be a good supporter." Howie stated. He moved down to the guy with the hat, going through the same thing.

"I'm Ryan Evans. Chad and I play baseball together a lot. We're good buds." Ryan said.

"We have a stage full of athletes I see." Howie chuckled. "Nice to meet you as well." He finally walked over to the woman and shook her hand.

"I'm Taylor McKessie. Chad and I have been dating since high school." She said.

"Really?" Howie asked. "Going strong I see?"

Taylor smiled and nodded. "About eight years."

"That's terrific." Howie grinned. "These are what I like to see when people come onto the show. "So now it's up to you guys. You're here for Chad now. What do you think he should do?"

Even Chad could tell the answer was obvious, whether they all spoke at the same time or not. He smiled and practically slammed down the cover. "C'mon, no deal!"

"That's a big offer you just turned down." Howie observed.

"It's too early to quit. It's only gonna get bigger." Chad said. It was just like taking the first big lead in a game; it was nothing to get too excited about just yet.

"Well now you're down to four cases." Howie replied. "So let's see how well you do with your next four choices."

"That's what I've got my buds for." Chad grinned. He went to Troy first, remembering how his number fourteen case got Chad the penny. "Ok Troy what do you think? Got any suggestions?" he asked.

Troy rubbed his chin as he looked at the models. "I'm thinking the big sixteen." He said.

"Sixteen huh?" Chad rubbed his chin. Of course; in their senior year of high school, their basketball had sixteen minutes to make a major comeback. It ended up winning them the championship. He nodded and pointed to the case. "I'm taking sixteen, Howie."

"You heard him." Howie told the model. There was a deep sense of tension in the air as she slowly unlocked the case. She took a peek inside and had a disappointed look on her face. It made Chad's expression fall. The audience gasped and then the model smile. "Just kidding." She said before revealing the five dollars inside.

Chad cheered and hit high five's with Troy. Ryan raised his hand dramatically. "Hey can I give it a try?" he asked, wanting have a turn.

Chad chuckled and shrugged. "Why not?" He liked having this kind of backup with him. Chad knew the least amount of money he was looking for, even if it was way less than a million. But he didn't want to go home with less than a hundred thousand either, or way less. So he was hoping Ryan had good judgment.

Ryan looked at the models, eyeing each one of them closely until he pointed to number twenty-six. "Go for that one!" he grinned.

Chad chuckled. "You're only choosing her cause you're trying to score a date with her."

"Well you asked for opinions." Ryan said with a small shrug.

Well he had a point there. "Twenty-six it is then."

As the spotlight hit the model she teased Ryan by giving him the "call me" signal. After doing so and waiting for Howie to build up the suspense, she slowly opened the case. "It's not that bad." She assured them as she revealed the fifty thousand inside.

Chad rolled his eyes at Ryan. "Ok, you're off the case choosing committee." He teased. "I'm picking the next case. And I've got my eyes on number eleven." He announced.

"Let's see if this one will go any better." Howie said. "Open the case." And once again the top was slowly unlocked before going down. There was the ticket for three hundred dollars. Chad smiled at his choice. Man he was good at this game! "Now you have one more case to open." Howie interrupted his thoughts. "Choose wisely."

"I've got the perfect candidate." Chad smiled. He walked over to Taylor and wrapped an arm around her. "It's all you Tay."

Taylor smiled at him. "You know which one is my favorite."

"Number twenty-five?" Chad smiled.

"Number twenty-five." Taylor repeated with a nod.

The spotlight hit the curly-haired Hayley and Howie began moving more around the stage. "This is the last case of this round. Now you're doing pretty good so far, but can you keep it up?" There was a dramatic pause as he slowly pointed towards the model. "Open the case." The sound of the case unlocking was evident in the studio. Even though it wasn't down to the wire yet there was still suspense and nerves all around. The model leaned forward a little to get a quick look at the amount inside. Chad had a hopeful look on his face as he gripped Taylor tighter. But Hayley turned back to them and smiled. "Someone's got a good head on their shoulders." She complimented, opening the twenty-five dollar case.

Chad grinned widely and kissed Taylor on the forehead. "That's why you're my math girl." He whispered.

Taylor giggled and wrapped her arm around him as well.

The moment was interrupted by the phone. Howie answered it and began talking to the banker. "Hello Mr. Banker." He raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? .... Ok then, I'll give him the message." He hung up his phone and went over to Chad. "The banker says that the only reason you've been having a good round is because you have some kind of good luck charm. And he thinks he knows what it is."

"Ok, so I've got a good luck charm. What's he gonna do about it?" Chad shrugged. He was feeling pretty confident; he wasn't afraid to admit he had a special good luck charm.

"He says that he's going to have to put her away for the next round." Howie answered. "He wants her to go backstage and remain there. She's going to be completely tuned out for the next round so she'll have no idea what's going on."

Troy and Ryan exchanged looks. Chad raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what?" he asked. How did the banker figure it out?

Howie turned to Taylor. "If you'll come with me." He told her, then headed backstage.

Taylor looked at Chad, wishing him luck before she followed the host. All she really had to do was sit on a stool with a pair of headphones over her ears so she couldn't hear the outcome of the next round, or even of this round.

Howie then walked back out, and Chad looked more than a bit nervous. He wanted Taylor there more than anything, more than any other person with him or watching. "Don't worry, the sooner we get through the next round the sooner she'll be back out." Howie promised. "And there's still the matter of the offer for this round." He revealed the button on the table as he spoke, "And for you to leave now he is offering you $145,000."

Chad ran his hand through his hair anxiously as he paced around before collapsing onto the couch. Man that was the perfect amount that he could have used.

"Dude the game isn't over yet. You've got a good board going." Troy encouraged. "Don't take the deal yet. Go at least one more round."

"Even I think you can do better than that. The board looks more like it's in your favor." Ryan agreed.

With Ryan and Troy giving Chad their opinions, it felt odd for him to not have Taylor there telling him the same thing. Less than a minute since she was taken backstage and already Chad felt lost. But he knew he couldn't take the deal; Taylor was the main reason he wanted to win more than that. Finally getting himself together, Chad clammed down the cover.

"No deal!"

"You have a good game going here, Chad." Howie stated. "But you need to see if you can keep it up. Open the million or any other six figures and the offer immediately drops. So choose your next case carefully."

Chad leaned forward on the table and nodded. "Right." He said to himself. He'd gotten this far, so he wasn't going to back out now. He lifted his head to look at the remaining cases. Chad could feel the choices narrowing and his fingers clutched the surface of the table. "I'll go for six." He decided.

"You've only opened up one high amount so far." Howie announced as the spotlight hit the model. "We're about to find out if the banker's suspicion is right about your luck. Now…open the case."

The model closed her eyes and let the cover drop down. The audience moaned as $500,000 was revealed. Chad nearly hit his head against the table in disappointment.

"C'mon man, keep it going!" Troy called.

"That had to hurt." Howie observed.

"Yeah, it did." Chad admitted. He straightened himself up. "But I gotta keep going. And I'm going for number nine."

Almost no time was wasted; after the ok, the case was opened with yet another bad number. $750,000, to be exact. Chad groaned loudly as he literally hit his head on the table.

"This is not a good round." Howie stated. "The banker even looks like he's laughing it up now." It was true; with the silhouette of the banker visible, it clearly looked like the man was laughing in his chair. "I think he uncovered your secret to the success of the game. But you still have one more case to open this round. If you don't open another huge amount then you should be alright."

Chad gave a faint nod as he took in everything the host said. He did have a point; and it wasn't over yet either. But Chad really needed Taylor out there. She was his good luck charm. How could he do it without her? Ok, there had to be a way. Chad stood up again and took a deep breath, trying to figure out what else was wrong. Maybe it was the fact that he was randomly picking cases, all without reason. So which case had a good reasoning behind it to choose? Chad studied each one carefully, trying to figure it out. His eyes ended up on case fifteen.

"Well I need to change things up a bit. I think case fifteen is the way to go." Chad announced.

"Really?" Howie inquired as he walked up to the particular model, wanting to get a good look for himself when the case would open. "And why is that?"

"Troy's birthday is on the fifteenth in a few months." Chad answered. "And Taylor's is the same date six months after. So I gotta go for that case."

So you think that there is a lower amount in this case than the previous two you opened?" Howie asked.

"Yes I do." Chad nodded.

"So what happens if it's the million?"

Chad was hoping it wouldn't be the big six zeroes. But he couldn't think like that. It couldn't be in that case, it just couldn't. "I don't think it's in there. I'm feeling a lower number."

"Then let's see what's inside." Howie announced. He gave a nod to the model, "Open the case." They both looked in to get a sneak preview of the amount. Howie was ready to give Chad the look, the one of disappointment, but the model beat him to it with quite the opposite. There in the case sat the four hundred.

Chad cheered; he knew that case was a good pick, he just knew it. He did his secret handshake with Troy, though after seeing this episode of Deal or No Deal it wouldn't be so secret anymore, and hit Ryan a high five.

As they did that, Howie answered the phone and talked to the banker. And Chad wasn't liking the sound of it. "The banker things that he made a good move. Two out of the three cases you opened were six figures. He wants to see that again next round." Howie explained. "So he's keeping Taylor backstage for another round."

"What?" Chad gasped. "C'mon, that's whack." He ran right underneath the banker's little viewing area and held his fist up to it. "You hear me, Banker person? Whack I say, whack!"

The audience chuckled at Chad's antics, but Howie filled in the missing blank. "And there's still the matter of the offer. It went up, but only barely." Another dramatic pause. "$160,000. So you can take that and go home or you can keep playing. You still have four large amounts in play including the million. So it's up to you. Do you take that risk? I ask you now Chad, deal or no deal?"

Chad knew nearly more than half of the people in there were telling him no deal. And Chad knew he wanted more than that. Not too much more; he knew to quit when it got tricky. But it wasn't time to throw in the towel yet. He was still in the game and as far as he was considered it was only half time.

"I'm still goin on Howie. No deal!" he insisted even before listening to Troy's and Ryan's opinions. Besides the faster he finished the next round the sooner he could have Taylor back out.

"So that makes you down to the two cases mark." Howie said when it finally calmed down. "After this round we're going to start opening one case at a time. So you know it only gets harder from here."

Chad nodded. "Just like a basketball game." He said to himself. He took a deep breath and then spoke again. "I'm going with three."

"Are you going with your assumption that you need to pick special cases?" Howie inquired.

"Yeah." Chad nodded. "It got me good with case fifteen, it can only get better."

"So why three?"

"Let's just say it's a special number." Chad wouldn't think of announcing on nation TV what he'd been planning for the past three years.

"Alright then." Howie said. "We're going to see if you're on the right track." He clasped his hands together and pointed at the model. "Lisa…open your case."

She nodded and let it slowly unlock. She took a quick look in before showing what it was. "I'm so sorry." She apologized, and then exposed the $300,000 sitting inside.

Chad sighed; so much for his theory. But he had to shake it off. One more case to go before the next offer. Before he even let the hose speak again Chad blurt out the case he wanted. "Twenty."

"You're not wasting anymore time." Howie noted. "Are you going into a rush hour or something?"

"I gotta focus on the game. Gotta keep going and not let something keep me down for too long. It don't work in sports so it ain't gonna work here." Chad replied.

"Let's see for ourselves then." He said. "Open the case."

And it was done. A huge sigh of relief was heard when only two hundred was in the case.

Even Howie seemed surprised. But it was these kinds of contestants that made the game interesting, that built up the suspense in the atmosphere. "You cut yourself a break." He announced. "You have three large amounts left on the board. But you know something, it's not all bad. If you can avoid the six figures in the next round then the board will definitely be in your favor." Chad grinned and then Howie answered the phone as it rang. "Yes Banker?" A long pause. Howie rubbed his chin. "He's being oddly generous. I think you insulted him before." He told Chad, covering the mouthpiece.

"That's good then. He should be afraid of me. I could bust him up there any time." Chad replied. "What else does he got to say to me?"

"He says that you need to shut your yap or you're only going to have two supporters for the rest of the game." Howie answered.

Ok, that wasn't what Chad was hoping for.

"But there is the good news. His offer." Howie added as he hung up. "And like I said, it was very generous. It's still in the six figures. $195,000."

Chad ran his hand through his hair as he saw the amount flash on screen. It was heating up in the studio and Chad knew if he opened up a large number next then it would instantly drop. But he wasn't satisfied enough with $195,000. He needed just a little more.

"I think you could use one more round. The board is looking good for you." Ryan said, snapping Chad out of his thoughts. "One more round and then you can call it quits."

"There's only two amounts higher than that one, Chad." Troy added. "Do you wanna keep going and risk it?"

Now it was Howie's turn to ask. "Chad Danforth, deal or no deal?"

Oh great, now with the full name asking. What were they trying to do to him? He paced around thinking for about a minute. The board was in his favor but it was still a lot of money. "You know what?" he determined. He looked like he was going to push the button, then slammed the cover on it. "No deal!"

With that round done, Taylor was able to come back out. Chad didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her, no matter who was watching. "What'd I miss?" she asked.

Troy started walking over to them, but as the host Howie beat him to the punch. "You missed the last two rounds. Chad has turned down $145,000 and $195,000. And he still has three large amounts in play."

Taylor pulled out of the hug and gave Chad her look with her hands on her hips.

"Just a little longer, that's all it's gonna take." Chad said. "I got a good board goin."

"And you have to remember not to get greedy." Taylor replied. "It's going to cloud your judgment."

"Trust me, I'll know when to quit." Chad promised.

She sighed and threw her hands up in defeat before walking back over to the boys.

"We're moving on to picking one case at a time." Howie said. "So, talk with your lifelines and pick a case."

Chad walked over to the three. "Ok what do you guys think?"

"There's no turning back now. There's five cases left." Troy said. "You gotta pick it carefully."

"How about twelve?" Ryan suggested.

"Remember what happened the last time you chose a case?" Chad asked. "I don't think so."

"You picked numbers that reminded you of Troy and Taylor. I need a turn, too." Ryan said.

Well, Chad had asked Ryan to come with them. He and Ryan were pretty close friends and usually got along. So if it was the other way around, how would Chad feel if he was the one whose suggestions were ignored? Besides, twelve was Ryan's uniform number in baseball. It was important enough.

Chad nodded as he made his decision. "Case twelve."

"We are now reaching one of the many moments of truth." Howie said. "This is going to make or break the game." He turned to Jill, the model. "Open up the case."

"I've got my fingers crossed." Jill told them, crossing her fingers for them. Everything was then silent as she unlocked the case. She looked inside, and then turned to the group and smiled. "Is this good enough for you?" she inquired. There in the case lay five thousand dollars.

Chad cheered and pumped his fists in the air. The crowd went wild that he was still avoiding the million. "I got my luck back banker! What do you think of that now?" he yelled.

As if on cue, which it always was, the phone rang and Howie answered. "He wants to know what you think now." He said right away. The audience chuckled and then it died down as Howie rubbed his chin. A minute later he hung up and slowly walked back over to Chad. "The banker says you can't avoid the million forever. He says your luck's about to run out. So if you want to see the last of it disappear then he's not going to let you take home…" Here came the offer, "…$260,000."

The audience gasped and Chad almost fell to the ground.

"Ok you really need to take that offer!" Ryan insisted. He wasn't good with numbers but he was good with money. And he knew that one slip-up and Chad would be lucky not to go home with a dollar, which could be in his case eight.

Taylor glanced at the board. "Chad there is only one amount up there that can beat that price. Even if you do take the offer and the million is in your case it'll be ok because that's plenty of money. You don't need to get cocky now."

"This is a big decision Chad. So now I have to ask you, deal or no deal?" Howie finished.

Chad knew it was a lot of money. He knew that was around the amount he wanted to go home with. But he wanted to go at least one more time. He wanted to see what the next offer would be. All he had to do was avoid the two largest amounts now available, which were the million and $200,000. The board was still in his favor.

"This is the last five minutes of the game." Chad said, comparing it to basketball. "Everything heats up and the competition is fiercer. So it's not the time to quit yet. And I'll know the time to quit when the buzzer rings in my mind. So that's why I'm saying no deal!" Another slam on the button's cover.

"There are now four cases left." The host announced once silence overcame the studio again. "One, five, seventeen, and twenty-two. Include case eight which you hold, and one of those holds a million dollars. The lowest amount up there now is a dollar." He paused so the audience could cheer and clap. "We know what you're looking for. But the question is, can you find it?"

Chad knew the answers. He was looking for the dollar and hoping not to find the million. The game had treated him well so far, but he had to see how much longer it would last. Hopefully past this round. He thought of all the cases that got him the farthest so far. Twenty-four, the amount of years his parents were together, held fifty bucks; fourteen, Troy's official number, had the penny; twenty-five, Taylor's favorite case, had twenty-five dollars; fifteen, the date of both Troy's and Taylor's birthdays; everything else was pure luck. So Chad was hoping that choosing another special case would bring him the luck he needed to continue, not just pure luck.

"Seventeen." He announced. "It was a good year for me in high school and it's when Taylor and I started dating. I got a good feeling about it."

"You do realize the consequences if your instincts are wrong." Howie reminded him.

"Yeah." Chad nodded. "I'm ready for it."

"Then there's only one thing to do." How said. He slowly turned to the model, "Open the case."

It was probably the longest pause so far. The model seemed disappointed after seeing what was inside. Chad's face fell right away and the audience held in their gasps. But then the model smiled. "Just kidding," she giggled. And there was the dollar. The audience erupted into cheers and Chad jumped into the air. He spun Taylor around in delight and the man-hugged Troy and Ryan. "I knew I had a good feeling about that one!" he exclaimed. And as soon as the phone rang, Chad made a mad dash to answer it ahead of Howie. "In your face Banker! What was that you were saying before? How do you like me now?"

Once again the audience cracked up. Chad grinned and then made a face at the banker's reply. "Hey kids watch this show you know. Watch your language!" he gasped.

Howie laughed and took the phone from Chad. "I'd better take it from here." He let Chad take a few steps back and Howie began talking to the banker. When he was finished he hung up and turned to Chad. "I think you're getting on the banker's nerves." He said. "But the banker said that there's no way you can say no to this next offer. For you to leave the game now, he is offering you $330,000."

Right then nearly everyone in the room was telling Chad to take the deal. Ryan was once again encouraging Chad to take the deal. Chad ran his fingers through his hair again. He walked over to the three. "Hey one at a time."

"Chad that is a lot of money. I don't know how much you came here to win but you can't go another round. If you open the million then it's over." Taylor said. "I really think it's time to take the deal and go home."

"Dude it's your call." Troy said. "We know that you won't listen to us forever."

Chad bit his tongue as he thought for a minute. He took another look at the board. The lowest amount left was seventy-five dollars. Chad had a good offer right now; part of him was telling him to take it. But to him there was still the last minute left of the game. And that minute would be up after picking one more case. "Guys I have a really good game going. It's not time to quit yet."

"Chad…" Taylor started.

"One more round, I promise. That's all I need." Chad replied. "I can do it."

Ryan hit his head and Troy sighed. "I really hope you know what you're doing man." He said reluctantly.

"I do know." Chad nodded. He turned to Howie. "No deal." He walked back over to the table and closed the case. Many gasps filled the room and Chad leaned forward on the table, hoping he didn't make a mistake. No he wasn't getting greedy; just one more case was all he needed, he was sure of it.

"You're taking a big risk here." Howie announced. "If you don't open the seventy-five dollars it's over."

"I know." Chad nodded. "But I have to go one more time. And I'm ending it with case twenty-two. We were all that age when we graduated and we stayed together as friends all four of those years. It's really something special."

"Then we're about to find out if you made the right choice." Howie said stoically. He didn't like bringing contestants down with sour moments, but there were bound to be plenty of them on the show. The worst time to do it was when the game went perfectly. If Chad picked the wrong case it would crush him. "Open the case."

It was completely silent. Everyone was nervous. There was no other way to describe the feeling in the studio. Chad was trying to prepare himself for the worst, but secretly hoping that it wouldn't be so. Even the model was silent. There were no words to express anyone's feelings when he opened the case. In front of everyone's eyes there it was. Seventy-five dollars. The audience went wild and Chad was happier than ever. He knew the offer would skyrocket now. He knew what he had to do.

But the banker wouldn't give anyone a chane to celebrate. The phone rang right away and Howie answered it. Everyone waited in awe for the offer. Nothing else was heard except for the music in the background and Howie's voice.

"He says it's over." Howie said. "The banker said that if you don't take this offer then your life is going to be a living nightmare." He had mouthed the words 'hell hole' to Chad instead, though he couldn't say it on TV. "So this is the largest offer tonight. Everything he's given you hasn't gone down once. But he swears that if you don't pick $100,000 on the possible next round, the offer will drop faster than you can say 'foul ball'." He slowly popped open the case to show the blinking button. It was now or never, and Chad knew it better than anyone else. He eyed Howie, who now had a serious look on his face as he gave the offer. "For you to get out now, the banker will give you $390,000."

The reaction? Just the same as the previous offer. Everyone started yelling deal. None of the supporters had a chance to talk. The audience gave no one mercy. Over and over it was just "DEAL! DEAL! DEAL! DEAL!" But Chad couldn't hear it. He had something to say. He tried to quiet everyone down and they slowly but surely obeyed.

"This is my game. I've been playing it and I've been giving it my all from the first case." Chad announced. "I have seen plenty of offers that I knew I could have taken, that I knew was exactly what I needed. But I didn't want to take hom just what I needed. I wanted to take something more. I was ready to take the $260,000 but I didn't. I knew I could keep going. I had to keep going. And the thing that I need is more important than anything else. So now I know what it's time for. I'm not doing anything because some banker person tells me to. This is my game and I say when the buzzer sounds. And the buzzer is sounding now." Chad knew Ryan and Taylor kept telling him to take the deal for about two rounds now. And he especially wasn't going to lose Taylor's trust over some money. Chad was ready. He pushed the red button, "Deal."

The crowd went wild once again. Troy, Ryan, and Taylor ran over to Chad to congratulate him. Chad man-hugged Troy and Ryan and then engulfed Taylor in a big bear hug. Howie walked over to the group and pat Chad on the back. "So you're going home with almost $400,000." he announced. "How does it feel?"

"It feels great." Chad replied with a big smile.

"What are you going to do with that money? Have you thought about what to do with any money you won?" Howie asked.

"Actually, I have." Chad nodded. He took Taylor's hand and pulled her over to an empty area on the stage, though the camermen were still following them. Hey, the show was still being taped; it wasn't over yet.

"Chad what are you doing?" Taylor asked.

"Just hear me out." Chad said. He didn't care who was watching or who overheard them. But this was one of the things he came here to do. "I have thought about everything for three years. Since we graduated college. When I met you, you were just a neighbor who happened to be my age and attended the same school. But two years of actually talking to you and getting to know you and that all changed. We haven't gone out with anyone else for about eight years. Every time one of us wasn't around we would still find a way to talk to each other. We went to prom together and had the time of our life. We graduated high school side by side. And not being able to see you for practically four years because of college was hard. And the fact that we were able to stay together through it all and still be together now means everything. I knew that as soon as we saw each other after graduation that we were gonna work out. So for three years I planned everything. I wanted to make it big and I wanted to make it special." He reached into his pocket, "So that's why I got something for the occasion. From the first offer over $100,000 everything was enough to pay for it. I got it a few months ago and I wanted to win money on here so I could completely pay for it for good and so we could have something left over. That's why I kept going. Not for greed, but for you. For us."

Taylor raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "Chad where are you going with this? Do you even know where we are?"

"Yeah. I know." Chad nodded. He pulled out a black case from his pocket and got down on one knee. Everyone gasped, knowing exactly where this was going. "I didn't want to ask you this before because I wanted to make sure I'd have the money and I didn't want you to turn me down later if I didn't have the million." he continued. "So that's why I'm asking you now. Chad then took a deep breath. "Taylor McKessie, I want to give you my hand in marriage. Will you marry me?"

Everyone was in suspense as they waited for Taylor's answer. It wasn't about the game show anymore; now it was about something much bigger. They wondered how anyone could say no to it now.

But what came out of Taylor's mouth first wasn't what anyone expected. "Are you out of your mind Chad? How much money did you spend on one ring?" she yelled.

"For you, any amount." Chad confessed.

"And you really thought that if you didn't win a million dollars I'd turn you down?" Taylor continued. "What level of shallow do you take me for?"

None of this Chad was expecting. His face fell, taking Taylor's answer as a no. But Taylor wasn't finished yet. She wanted to get the yelling out of the way first. Now her expression softened. She knelt down to his level.

"I wouldn't have thought any different of you no matter where we were or what you did." she said warmly. "My answer would be the same evn if you proposed to me at a supermarket with a pen cap. You don't have to spend a lot of money just to impress me."

Chad looked at her with a confused look. "Wait...so are you saying what I think you're saying?" he asked hopefully. He slowly offered Taylor the ring.

Taylor smiled as sle placed her hand in his, her hand covering the ring. Her smile only grew and she had to force herself to hold in a squeal. "Chad, yes. Of course I'll marry you."

Chad smiled widely as he heard the cheers from all over the studio. He quickly slipped the ring onto Taylor's finger before pulling her in for a passionte kiss. She easily accepted and now they were both sitting on the stage of Deal or No Deal celebrating their engagement.

Troy and Ryan ran over and practically pulled them apart, each congratulating the other with a hug. Howie offered his congrats to the couple as well. "We already know you've got a great deal here." he chuckled. "So what would your next case choice have been before all this?"

Chad smiled as he took Taylor's hand and they both stood up. "Case one." he answered.

Case one was opened by its respective model, Claudia. There was the $200,000. The audience seemed to react well. However, it didn't stop their faces from falling. Then Howie said what the banker would have offered and the amount appeared on the overheard screen. $520,000. Chad gasped and put his head on Taylor's shoulder. But he didn't seem all that disappointed.

"And now, for your case. You chose case eight." Howie announced. He picked up the case and brought it over to the group. "Chad Danforth, you made..." One final dramatic pause as he opened the case. "...and even better deal!"

In case eight rested $100,000. The final model Ursula opened her case and eveyone saw the million. More cheers eupted from the audience and that meant Chad's game was officially over. As Howie announced to the cameras that they'd be back with the next contestant, Chad dragged Taylor off to the side and out of sight. The two laughed as they disappeared from everyone's vision.

"It looks like you've made yourself a great deal Chad." Taylor smiled as she leaned up against the wall, placing her arms around his neck. "So what are you going to do with all that extra money?"

Chad smiled seductively and put his arms on her waist. "I think I'll tell you tonight." he promised. "We're gonna have at least a good $230,000 left over and no one else is touching it but us. We can tlak about what to do with it all night long."

"I quite enjoy the sound of that." Taylor replied softly with a smile.

So then, no matter who was watching them as they passed by, the two shared a final long, passionate kiss for the evening. At least until they would return to their hotel room.

* * *

That was the longest one so far! So what do you think? I'm not sure if I'll be able to update anything else tonight, and tomorrow is sketchy. Seriously, it took me a ton of hours to type this up all together and you have no idea how long I was stalling to type out Chad's question. XD And I'm serious, I had to write down everything that happened on the game as I played it so I wouldn't forget. So it wasn't easy. Last time I ever type any oneshots dealing with game shows. =P So, I hope you enjoyed this one and whichever story I update next there'll be plenty more good stuff to come! Hopefully. XDDD


	4. Taylor's Birthday

So I know I needed to update something today. And I happened to have an idea for "How to Ask". I also came up with an idea for a new story, which I'm thinking of putting up soon, but I at least wanna finish my HSM Future story first, and I'm not sure how many more chapters that's gonna be. So we'll see how that goes. And I don't think there's actually much more to say except that I don't own HSM so that'll be the end of this a/n. Now for the next thing I'd change about HSM if I owned it...I'm running out of things I'd change, actually. I guess probably emphasize the fact that Ryan is straight. Does anyone else think that Ryan just happens to be slightly more feminine because he grew up with Sharpay?

**

* * *

**

"Looks like you're counting the days off to something." Chad Danforth teased as he looked over his girlfriend's shoulder at the calendar.

"Mm." Taylor McKessie nodded contently. "Only three days to go." She marked off a big X on January twenty-sixth. "And you do know what that day is, don't you?" she asked as she turned to the curly-haired man while closing the red marker.

"Now how could I ever forget?" Chad teased with a smile, placing an arm around her shoulder. "Every year in middle and high school as soon as we were done with midterms you would celebrate. Isn't somebody's birthday coming up?"

"Which means in exactly one year and three days I will have successfully accomplished the first two decades of my lifetime." Taylor smiled.

"Really?" You don't even look a day over sixteen." Chad smiled, pulling her into him and wrapping both arms around her. "If I wasn't dating you for almost two years no I never would have guessed you were turning nineteen."

Taylor playfully pushed some hair out of his face. "About two and a half years, but who's counting?" she corrected. She gave Chad her look which her friends have labeled the 'Taylor look' and then pulled him in for a kiss. Chad accepted, happy to know that he knew her well enough to know when they were joking around. He and Taylor have gotten that close since they first met.

So now they were both attending the same college in Los Angeles and living together in a two-bedroom apartment. They went strong for nearly two whole years in high school and by the time they graduated the pair knew that they didn't want to break up. So they had agreed to go to the same college and obtain part-time jobs so they could pay for their own apartment. It was one bedroom, but still perfectly comfortable. Chad was an undecided major, since he wasn't sure what courses he'd want to take to deal with his future. And Taylor was a biochemistry major with a minor political science. Though the two were complete opposites they always found a common ground to work for them both. Chad was the funny, clueless, jock and Taylor was the down-to-earth, serious brainiac.

But their differences didn't stop Chad from feeling the way he did about Taylor. He loved being with her and he enjoyed every minute they were together. He loved making her smile and laugh and even though he barely understood half the stuff Taylor ever talked about, he still loved listening to her. Now Chad had told Taylor how he felt before; he did admit when they graduated that he was in love with her but Chad was stuck. He didn't know where to go after that. He knew he wanted to stay with Taylor and could never picture being with another girl, but they were only freshmen in college. Perhaps she wasn't ready to make a commitment like that yet. And he certainly didn't want to freak her out. So until then he would have to keep those feelings inside for a little longer. Until then, there was the matter of her birthday present.

Taylor couldn't say she felt any differently for Chad. But sometimes she had no idea what was going on in his head, especially since she was most often two steps ahead of him. But that didn't change the way she did feel. She loved being with Chad and he always found a way to make her feel better when she was at her lowest. When they agreed to live together while attending college, she was thrilled to say the least. Of course they did set a few ground rules, such as dividing up the bedroom equally between them so her tidiness wouldn't get in the way of his messiness. But even though she had confessed her love for him after graduation last year, Taylor was afraid that they would go downhill. She had especially held out on sex while she knew that Chad never really waited on that. And she certainly didn't want to push him away now.

"Alright loverboy, give me some air." Taylor teased, pushing Chad off of her. "I have some homework to finish that's due tomorrow."

Chad chuckled at her antics. They really have been hanging out too long. "We're back in school for less than two weeks already for the second semester and already you're piled with homework."

"Imagine how much more work I'd have if I were double majoring instead." Taylor winked. "Do you mind doing dinner tonight?"

"You really want that?" Chad joked.

Taylor rolled her eyes. Chad had always said that, saying that if he cooked or baked anything the apartment would burn to the ground. "Ok, you can order in." she agreed. "Just no pizza, ok? I'm not tasting cheese tonight."

"Anything for you Tay-Tay." Chad smiled. He pecked her on the lips.

"I'll be out in an hour or so. Enjoy the peace and quiet." Taylor smiled back. She walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind her.

Chad leaned against the wall as he watched Taylor exit the room. _Man I really gotta do something special for that girl._ he thought.

~CT~CT~CT~

"Ok I'm in a complete slump." Chad admitted over the phone the next day to his best friend Troy Bolton, who was staying back home in New Mexico. "Tay's birthday is this Friday and I don't know what to get her."

"Dude, you had this problem the first year you two dated. Or the one after that." Troy replied. "Well, you know what I mean. Remember in junior year when it was the first time you actually have Taylor a birthday gift? You were freaking out like crazy. You ended up giving her a gift card to Barnes and Noble bookstore and a mixed CD."

"Yeah and you remember the face she made." Chad said. "It didn't look like an overly pleased look."

"But then what about last year?" Troy recalled. "You got her that charm necklace and took her out for dinner that weekend. Wasn't she happy with that?"

"Well she did mention enjoying the necklace." Chad admitted. "But that doesn't solve my problem this year."

"There is no problem." Troy urged. "It's the thought that counts and you know it."

"Of course I know, but I want it to be something I know she'll like. It can't be something lame like a a Flounder cookie jar." Chad replied.

Troy rolled his eyes and scrunched his face. "You been watching the Little Mermaid again haven't you?"

"Hey it happened to be on last week." he replied defensively. "And c'mon, who can resist that yellow fish? And the crab doesn't have too bad a voice either."

Troy hit his forehead. He couldn't believe Chad was this clueless. Sure, he'd been clueless before but this was taking it to a new level. But Chad was definitely making too big a deal out of this. Troy saw him and Taylor together and they both looked at their happiest. And if Troy was reading their relationship right, then no matter how stupid the gift would be, as long as it was from Chad, Taylor would love it. He just couldn't understand why Chad didn't see that.

"Has she dropped any hints?" Troy wondered, trying to help out his friend.

"No." Chad shook his head. "We just started school last week so she's been focusing on getting back into it. And I just noticed her counting down the days yesterday."

"Dude!" Troy gasped. "You only have two days to get her something? Why didn't you look over her shoulder at the calendar earlier? Heck, why didn't you even look at the calendar earlier?"

"Well sorry for being distracted." Chad said sarcastically. "So now you see the problem."

"Well what do you wanna get her?" he wondered.

Chad thought for a minute. He knew exactly what he wanted to get Taylor. But there were a few different problems. Issue a: Chad didn't know if she would accept it. For all he knew Taylor could throw it out the window or give him a look. She may not look at it the same way he would. Issue b: it may be the worst gift Taylor could ever get. She could be hoping for something different like a special book or a fancy dinner but instead just some ring that she may get rid of. Chad didn't want that.

But then Chad remember what Troy said. It was the thought that counted. Then again, Taylor may not have the same thought that Chad did. And he didn't want to give her something like that if she wasn't ready. Maybe he should talk to the parental figures first. That might be the best idea, even if it was just a phone call.

"Thanks Troy. That really helped." Chad replied. "See you later." He hung up the phone and dialed the McKessie residence. Maybe Taylor's mother could tell him what he needed to hear.

On second thought, no. There was no answer. So maybe Chad wasn't going to get the help that he wanted. He sighed and hung up his phone, not sure what to do now. It was Wednesday night and Taylor's birthday was two days away, with Chad being gift-less and idea-less. He sighed and leaned back in the chair he was sitting on. If he couldn't find anything he was sunk.

"You look stressed." Taylor observed as she stepped behind Chad and massaged his shoulders a bit.

Chad sighed contently and rested his head against her. "Maybe just a little." he admitted. "But give me five minutes with you and I'll be completely un-stressed."

Taylor giggled and shook her head. "It's about school isn't it?"

Chad paused. He couldn't tell her the real reason why he was freaking out. He didn't even want to think about Taylor's reaction. "Guess you could say that." he answered. "It's something to do with school."

"Well there's no need to worry. You'll get back into the swing of things soon." Taylor promised. "Will it make you feel any better if I made you your favorite meal tonight?"

"And we get some cupcakes for dessert?" Chad asked hopefully, looking at her.

Taylor smiled and nodded. "Of course." she agreed. She leaned over and pecked him on the lips. "I'll go get started." She walked into the kitchen.

Chad sighed with relief. He was off the hook. For now.

~CT~CT~CT~

Luckily Chad had no classes on Thursday so he was able to spend most of the day searching for Taylor's perfect gift. After two hours of searching Chad came up with nothing. he didn't even understand why it was so difficult. He knew Taylor. He just wanted to make her happy and give her something special.

"Guess I've got nothing to lose." he finally sighed as he walked into a jewelry store. Chad began looking over every shelf they had, eying each ring carefully. He had to find a cheap one but he wanted it to be the nicest cheapest ring there was. Definitely something gold, maybe with at least one small jewel on it if he could find one. And then his eyes fell on it. It was the perfect ring. Golden in color with what looked like very tiny ruby diamonds circling it. And as soon as Chad looked at it, he saw the perfect gift for Taylor. Chad knew exactly what to do. Maybe it'd be a bit over his budget, but he didn't care anymore.

He was going to make this the best birthday he could ever give Taylor.

~CT~CT~CT~

Friday afternoon, four thirty-nine exactly. Taylor walked into the apartment room with her schoolbooks. She took the car home and Chad insisted on walking home after his last class, which ended a good three hours ago. Taylor was so used to driving to and from school with Chad and to not have him there with her felt weird. But now, looking around the apartment room, it felt even weirder. Taylor had a perplexed look on her face as she looked at the atmosphere.

The living room had streamers in different shades of purple and red and all the lights were off, leaving numerous candles lit. The couch in the room was replaced with a love seat and there was faint romantic music playing in the background. She could smell turkey and fruit salad coming from the kitchen. Turning her attention back into the living room, Taylor could see a small box of chocolates on the coffee table and the window curtains were open slightly to take in a view of the city. On the love seat was a big blanket resting on the top and a pillow on each side.

Taylor raised an eyebrow as she slowly put her books down. "Chad are you here?" she called.

Chad smiled as he stepped out of the bedroom. From what Taylor could see from the angle she was standing at, the bedroom looked at least slightly decorated as well. "Chad what is all this?" Taylor asked in awe as she walked over to him.

Chad took Taylor's hands in his and smiled. "It's for your birthday Tay. I've been working on it since I got home."

"So this is why you wanted to leave so early." Taylor realized. She looked around the living room again. "But you didn't have to do all of this. You went through so much trouble."

"It's never any trouble for you." Chad shook his head. "I just wanted to give you a great birthday."

Taylor could almost feel her eyes water up as she smiled warmly. "Chad that is so sweet. But you don't have to rearrange the whole apartment or cook a fancy dinner for me. Even if you just sat down with me to watch my favorite movie I'd be happy."

"Oh..." Chad replied. "Well, I guess you wouldn't want your present then."

"Who said that?" Taylor gasped. Her face naturally lit up with excitement. "What'd you get me?"

Chad smiled and pulled out a small velvet case from his back pocket. "I really wanted to get you something special for tonight. And I thought I had the perfect idea but I kept picturing in my head that you'd turn it down. And I'm really hoping that you like it and don't throw it out the window."

"Why would you ever think I'd do that?" Taylor asked. "Anything you get for me I wouldn't dream of throwing out a window. The most I'd do is throw it at you when I get angry."

Chad chuckled and nodded. "Yeah that's pretty much what Troy said." he replied. "But I just wanted to get you something you'd love, not like that first time I got you a gift."

"Are you kidding? I love all the gifts you got me." Taylor replied with a smile. "That gift card to Barnes and Noble got me two of the books I've been wanting to get months before. And the necklace last year was perfect. Every time I need a little boost or luck I always wear it."

"So I don't get terrible gifts then?" Chad asked hopefully.

"Never." Taylor shook her head.

"So I guess I don't have to worry about you hating this one then." he smiled.

"Not a chance." Taylor replied.

Chad sighed with relief and opened up the case he was holding. "Tay, you have no idea how much you mean to me. I wanted to make today special for you and as soon as I saw this ring I knew it was for you." he explained. "When we graduated high school I wanted us to last more than I wanted to play with some famous basketball team. I've gotten so used to going out with you and seeing you everyday as something more than a classmate that you just became a part of my life. And I didn't want you out of it. And I still don't. So when we found out we'd go to the same college and agreed to live together, you have no idea how happy I was. I don't know what you think, but I want us to be together forever. You mean tow rold to me Taylor, and I never want to lose you. So here is my gift to you today. Even if you somehow turn it down, we'll still jave your favorite meal and we can relax in this room together as long as you want. So that's why I'm going to ask you this..." That's when he got down on one knee. "My gift to you is this ring. My hand. My life. Everything I have to you. Will you accept me as your husband?"

Taylor just stared at him blankly for a minute, blinking. This was not what she had been expecting. She didn't even know how to respond right away. Taylor never even thought about something like this. She especially never thought of being engaged before turning twenty. Heck, she wouldn't even officially be nineteen until eight-o-seven p.m.

"Chad...we just started college. How can we...?" she replied, almost stuttering.

"We can get through college first." Chad answered as-a-matter-of-factly. "I'll understand if you don't want this, Tay. But if you don't want it now then I can wait. Because I know you're the girl for me."

"You really are the sweetest guy aren't you?" Taylor asked, letting a single tear fall and a smile spread on her face.

Chad blushed modestly. "I do what I can."

"And I can't turn you down. You're always there for me and I know no matter what I can always count on you." Taylor said. "I love you, Chad. That hasn't changed since this summer and it doesn't change now."

Chad pushed himself off his knee to stand up straight. "I love you too, Taylor."

Taylor smiled, hearing the answer that she was hoping for. That was all she needed to hear before giving her answer. She took the ring out of its case and slipped it onto her finger.

Chad's eyes widened. "Wait a minute...that's a...?"

"Yes." Taylor smiled happily.

Chad's smile grew as he wrapped his arms around her, picked her up and spun her around. "Tay you have no idea what this means."

"Neither do you." Taylor giggled as Chad put her back down. She smiled at him and looked right into his eyes. "I love my present, Chad."

"Happy birthday Taylor." Chad smiled. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her. Taylor returned the action and wrapped her arms around his neck, only to pull away less than a minute later, leaving Chad whining for more.

"How about we take this into the bedroom?" she suggested with a grin.

Chad raised an eyebrow. "Tay are you sure?" he asked. "What about the abstinence thing?"

"Abstinence, shmabstinence." she laughed. "It's my birthday and I'll do what I want. I've kept you waiting long enough."

"So then let's eat dinner quickly so we can get to it." Chad chuckled. "I don't think that turkey's gonna eat itself."

The couple laughed as Chad then dragged Taylor into the kitchen. And as soon as they were finished they went right into the bedroom, which had as much decoration as the living room. Chad really went all-out on everything and even if they didn't do anything, Taylor couldn't be happier.

And Taylor made sure to turn to the clock when it turned eight-o-seven. She smiled as she watched the clock, already feeling herself turn nineteen. And she felt even better to have Chad by her side. Taylor turned back to Chad when she felt his arms find their way around her again. She palced a hand on his check and snuggled close to him under the covers.

"I couldn't imagine having a better day." she whispered with a warm smile. "Thank you Chad." She kissed him softly on the lips.

Chad smiled into the kiss, even after the two of them pulled away. "Happy birthday, Tay-Tay."  
**

* * *

**

Corny-ish, huh? I had to stop in the middle of this to eat dinner so a thought or two were kinda lost in the middle of it. Ok, and I was catching the ending of a Simpsons episode at the same time, too. You caught me. -_- So is there anything else I need to say? Oh yeah, I actually had a packet on Zodiac signs printed out so I could try and figure out around what time Taylor's birthday would be. Figured she'd be an Aquarius or Libra. So now that that's taken care of, I'll see when the next time is that I update. Until then, time to read more stories! ^^


	5. Sequel

Ok so I had a little bit of time today, as in Saturday, to add another chapter. It's pretty cliché to type some kinda mushy story on VDay, but what are you gonna do, right? This'll be the only thing I should be able to update. And by the time I finish this I will officially be nineteen. ^^ I even got a new teddy bear sitting by the computer right now, and some M&Ms. And last night after work I treated myself to something from the vending machine. I got stickers of ducks. One's camouflaged and the other's disco. More stickers for my laptop! ^^ Anyway, I'll let you know now that this chapter here is kinda like a oneshot sequel to one of my other stories. Just look at Chapter Fourteen in "Classic Disney meets New Disney" if you get lost. And even though I plan on owning the HSM3 DVD soon, I still don't own HSM.

* * *

"Chad we need to talk."

Chad blinked as he sat across the dining room table from his girlfriend Taylor. They had been living together for a while now and he thought everything was going great. Randy was behind bars and Taylor was finally living her own life. She was a doctor and Chad was still playing for the Lakers. As far as Taylor's son, Michelangelo, went, Chad couldn't say he was too sure. But basketball season was still early and that made it harder for Chad to spend so much time at home. And aside from the occasional rushing out or the whole publicity deal Chad thought everything was going perfectly.

"What?" Chad gasped. He couldn't believe it, and her tone was so serious. "You're leaving me?"

"When did I say that?" Taylor asked, folding her arms. She sighed heavily. "It's not a breakup line this time, Chad. We seriously need to talk."

He sighed with relief. "Don't scare me like that, Tay."

"Chad can you please listen for once?" she replied. "I love you, but you can just be so clueless and stubborn. When was the last time you hung out with Michelangelo?"

"It's a little hard to do that when I'm always at games." Chad said somewhat defensively. It wasn't like he was lying; it was technically true.

"You were doing so well with him. What happened?" Taylor asked, generally concerned.

"I guess we both just ran short on time." Chad shrugged.

She folded her arms. "Who ran short on time?"

"Ok, so maybe I'm the one who had less time..." he admitted.

"Chad if you can't spend any time with my son how can this relationship go anywhere? It has to be healthy for all three of us for it to work." Taylor explained.

"Tay believe me, I want this to work more than anything. I would even give up basketball for it to work." Chad said honestly.

"So why don't you?" she inquired.

Chad blinked. He didn't see that coming. Was she really being serious? Did Taylor really think he'd give up his dream? He was doing what he loved and he was living with the woman he loved. There was no way he'd give either of those up. But he was caught off guard by her question. What was he supposed to say now?

"Well..." he stuttered.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Taylor rolled her eyes. She pushed herself out of her seat and stood up. "I can't push Michelangelo into anything he doesn't want to do, or force him to be anywhere he doesn't want to be. He has to be completely comfortable with us. I know he's used to all of us living together now, but he's still not used to us dating. I really think if you spent some more time with him then he'd be more comfortable. Give him a chance."

"Ok." Chad nodded as he stood up. "I'll talk to him and see if we can do some bonding before the home game tonight."

"That's not good enough Chad." she shook her head. "You need more time than just a couple of hours. Maybe see if he wants to go to the game with you? He can watch you play and you can even spend half time with him or something."

"Does he even like basketball?" he asked.

"Well you'd know that if you spent more time with him, wouldn't you?" Taylor asked.

"Ok, you're right." he reluctantly nodded. Chad had really wanted to take Taylor to the game, but Michelangelo was a little more important at the moment. Hoping that she'd know that, Chad moved in to give her a hug and a kiss, but he was gently shoved away.

"Talk to me again after the game." she said simply.

"Alright." Chad agreed.

"Mama?"

The two turned to see six year old Michelangelo walking into the room. He went over to Taylor, who smiled and gently picked him up.

"Hey there Angel." she greeted softly. "How are you?"

"I'm bored." he sighed.

Taylor glanced at Chad and he knew where this was going. "Well, how about you come with me to my game tonight, Mikey?" Chad asked him. "You can watch me play and everything."

"you could have fun." Taylor suggested. "And so a little male bonding."

"What's that?" Michelangelo asked curiously.

"It's when two boys spend some time together and do things they both enjoy." she explained.

"I wanna go to the park and play." Michelangelo replied.

Taylor looked at Chad. "You heard him." she said with a knowing look.

"But I have to be at the arena in less than two hours." Chad said.

"Well then just make some time for you and Michelangelo." Taylor said, handing her son over. "And keep your eye on him."

"How am I supposed to do that if I'm playing?" Chad asked.

She sighed. "A child is a full-time responsibility Chad. Angel has to come first every time. Why can't you understand that?"

"I can, it's just..." he stammered. Chad paused to try and think of a good comeback. Now Chad always had something to say. He was never one to be short of words unless the situation called for it. As far as Chad could tell, this situation didn't call for it. Still, he couldn't think of a decent counter. He had nothing. He knew for him and Taylor to work he had to spend more time with her son, but sometimes Chad just wished it was the two of them with no kids involved. That Taylor never had Michelangelo. But what was he going to do now? He couldn't turn back time and change things, it wouldn't make a difference. But he had to prove to her that he did care somehow and unfortunately for him, there was no way out of this.

"That's what I thought." she nodded at his silence. "I'm going to go over my schedule for tomorrow. Call me if there's any problems." She handed Michelangelo her cell phone. "I'll be home all night, ok?" she told him.

"Ok." he nodded.

Taylor smiled and kissed her son on the forehead.

"Hey don't I get a kiss?" Chad asked as she started to walk away.

"I don't know." she folded her arms, slowly turning back to Chad. "What makes you think you deserve one?"

"Well...it might give me extra motivation?" he shrugged innocently.

"Nice try Chad. Maybe later." Taylor answered as she left the room.

And all Chad could do was sigh as he watched her walk out.

~CTCTCTCTCTCT~

Chad watched as Michelangelo tried pushing himself on the swings in the park. The boy was pumping his legs back and forth but the swing remained still. Chad sat on a bench across from him, his head resting in his hand. He had an hour to get to the game but he knew at the same time that he couldn't rush Michelangelo. On the other hand, this was his job and dream career he was thinking about. He became lost in his thoughts as he thought about all of the things that happened in less than a year. Taylor and Michelangelo had moved into his house after the issue with Randy. Chad was happier than he had ever been. Taylor had finally gotten one of the jobs she'd always wanted. Michelangelo was getting more comfortable around the house. And everything that happened with Taylor's ex-husband was nothing more than a memory.

Chad picked his head up when he thought he heard the boy's voice. "What?" he asked.

"I need help." Michelangelo repeated. "I wanna go high on the swing."

Chad held in a sigh as he stood up and walked over to Michelangelo. He stood behind him and gently began pushing him on the swing. "How's this?" he asked.

Michelangelo shook his head. "Higher."

Chad nodded and put a little more force into the push.

"Higher." he repeated.

Chad sighed and put even more force into the push. He took a step back and watched as Michelangelo slowly began swinging above his head. Chad smiled to himself, knowing he'd done good work. But it didn't last long.

"Too high! Too high!" Michelangelo gasped as he desperately tried to swing his legs and get the swing to stop. The swing began jolting back and forth instead of up and down and it made Michelangelo even more nervous. "Gemme down!"

"Hang on." Chad said quickly as he tried reaching for the swing, but ironically his reflexes were a bit too slow. Chad managed to grab a hold of the swing as soon as he got the chance and gently let it down, with Michelangelo clinging to the chains tightly and shaking. Seeing how scared he was, Chad placed his arms around Michelangelo's tiny body calmly. "It's ok, I've got you." he promised softly.

The shivering slowly died down and Michelangelo looked up at Chad. He could now remember that's what Chad had done when his father found him and Taylor. Chad protected Michelangelo and his mother and promised that he wouldn't let either of them go. Even Chad could remember that; it was no secret to them. "I've got you." Chad repeated calmly. He lifted Michelangelo up after his grip on the chains loosened. "You ok kiddo?"

"Uh-huh." he nodded quietly.

"At a boy." Chad nodded with a grin. "You can handle anything."

"Really?" Michelangelo asked hopefully.

"Well, maybe not everything." Chad admitted. "We're not cartoon characters. But you handled going too high on the swing and you handled your father. You're a brave kid, you know."

"But he hit me." Michelangelo whined as he began sniffling.

Chad gently bounced him in his arms a little. "Hey calm down. He's not gonna do that anymore." he promised. He had forgotten what Michelangelo went through. He'd been yelled and slapped by his father and would hear his parents argue so much just because they didn't really love each other. Chad wanted everything to be different for Michelangelo. It was time to leave all that behind. But now he could understand why Taylor wanted him to spend so much time with Michelangelo. She didn't want him to know every man he was with was going to hurt him. He needed to know that he could be safe with at least someone. And Chad was hoping that it meant him.

"Mama said that she and Dad fell outta love." Michelangelo sniffed. "What happens then?"

Chad thought for a minute, trying to figure out how to explain it. "Well, they move on. They go on with their lives and make sure they're just as happy as they were before." He walked over to the bench and sat down with Michelangelo on his lap.

"So does my mama love you now?" Michelangelo wondered.

Chad smiled at the thought. Chad and Taylor have said how they loved each other, and Chad always meant every word of it. In his heart he knew Taylor meant it, too, but sometimes she was just so hard to read. Then again, she could have always been teasing him or something.

"I don't think I'm obligated to answer that question." Chad said slyly.

"So do you love my mama?" he wondered.

Chad smiled and nodded. Michelangelo had Taylor's intelligence, all right. "Yes. Very much." he confessed.

"Does that mean you're gonna hurt her?" Michelangelo wondered quietly.

"What? No, never." Chad shook his head. "I mean, maybe a poke or a playful push once in a while, but never on purpose like really hurting her. You don't hurt someone when you love them. You're always there for them. And you protect them. You do things to show that you love them."

"So what are you gonna do?" he cocked his head curiously.

"Well...I did have this one plan...." Chad admitted sheepishly with a goofy smile.

"What is it?" he asked eagerly.

Chad chuckled. He couldn't believe that he would actually be telling everything to Michelangelo. The kid may not even understand half of what was going on. But hey, Chad had his plans. He might as well get permission to go through with them while he was at it. Maybe this bonding thing with Michelangelo wasn't so bad after all. He was pretty good to talk to, and he liked hanging out with a little kid.

"Well...you know when two people really love each other and they wanna be together forever right?" he asked. He saw Michelangelo nod and continued. "I was kinda planning on asking your mom to marry me. So we could be together forever and we could all be a family. I don't wanna see her get hurt again and I wanna make sure that she's always happy. And I wanna be the one to do that."

"What about me?" Michelangelo asked sadly.

Chad smiled. Yeah, like he'd ever forget the child. "No way would you ever be left out." He playfully ruffled Michelangelo's hair. "Besides, your mother would have my head if I forgot about you."

Michelangelo giggled. "So does that mean you'd be my dad?" he wondered.

Chad paused for a minute. He wasn't sure how to answer. It would technically make Chad Michelangelo's stepfather but he didn't want Michelangelo to call his father someone who treated him so badly. But Michelangelo had to be comfortable, too.

"Would you want me to be?" Chad asked.

"Uh-huh!" he nodded eagerly. He wrapped his arms around Chad's neck and hugged him.

Chad's eyes widened, caught off guard for a minute. He really didn't expect an answer like that coming, or have Michelangelo assume that he just said yes. But it felt good. It felt good to make someone else so happy and it felt good to have this talk. He finally smiled and hugged Michelangelo. "You got it kiddo." he grinned. "So what do you wanna do next?"

~CTCTCTCTCTCT~

Chad smiled as he walked back into his house around eleven at night with Michelangelo in his arms. They were both laughing, indicating that they had enjoyed themselves. Chad closed the door with his foot after walking inside and went into the living room. His expression fell when he saw Taylor standing with her arms folded, her foot tapping against the carpet in a rather annoyed manner. She looked pretty annoyed herself, actually. What did he do this time?

"Chad Danforth you have a lot of explaining to do." Taylor demanded. "Where have you been all this time? I got a call from your coach saying that you were first late for the game and then you never showed up."

"Tay, I can explain..." Chad started as calmly as he could.

Michelangelo only smiled as he jumped down and ran to Taylor. "Hi Mama!" he greeted, jumping into her arms. "I had a great time with Dad tonight."

Chad smiled. Man it made him feel so important to hear Michelangelo call him that. But he seemed a bit confused when Taylor's eyes widened.

"You saw your father?" she asked. "Michelangelo, when? Wasn't Chad keeping an eye on you? I thought I said-"

"He was." Michelangelo nodded. "I was with Dad the whole time."

"What?" Taylor asked with a confused look.

Chad couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. "He was talking about me, Tay."

Taylor raised an eyebrow. "Wait so he...? And then you...?" She took a long pause, seeming to take it all in. Her look softened but it was stil a bit shocked. "He called you his father?"

Chad smiled and shrugged modestly.

"What did you do to him?" she wondered.

"We bonded." Chad answered simply. "We went to the park. We talked. We got ice cream. Hey did you know his favorite team is the Yankees? And he likes learning about space?"

"See, this is why you needed to spend time with him." Taylor said. "You can't live in a house with a total stranger. But you could have at least called to tell me you were missing the game. Or your coach so he wouldn't call."

"You always watch my games." Chad stated.

"I said I had to look over my work for tomorrow." Taylor reminded him. "I can't multitask everything at once."

"Yeah, you're not a complete superwoman." Chad joked.

"Hey!" Taylor gasped playfully as she hit him on the chest.

Chad chuckled and smiled. "I think you still owe me something?" he suggested. "Remember? I'm home now and..."

Taylor rolled her eyes and smiled. "I think you do deserve a little something." she agreed. She gently placed Michelangelo down and walked over to Chad. Her hands were put on his shoulders and she kissed him gently. Chad wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back, loving the feel of her on him. He smiled into the kiss and pulled back when she did, their arms still around each other.

"Ok, I can go to bed tonight happy now." Chad decided, which caused Taylor to giggle and in turn him to smile.

"Give her the ring now!" Michelangelo exclaimed.

Chad paused and Taylor looked at her son before turning back to Chad. "What's he talking about?" she wondered.

"Well..." Chad said hesitantly. So much for the secret. He rubbed the back of his head and had almost an uneasy vibe around him. How was he going to explain this one? "We...sorta kinda...made another stop after we got ice cream..."

"And that stop would be...?" Taylor inquired, suspicion evident in her voice.

"Jewelry store." Chad responded in a fragment.

Taylor took a step back and stayed where she was. It was obvious that she had the feeling this was going somewhere. She folded her arms, apparently giving Chad a signal to continue.

"I've been wanting to do this for a long time, Taylor. Before any of this ever happened. But the time never came. So while we were at the park, Mikey and I were doing a lot of talking. And...I think he's given me permission now. And I really, really want this to work." Chad explained. He took a deep breath as he continued, trying to ignore the nerves in his stomach. "I had so many ideas on how to say this, on how to do this, and...." He paused again to try and gather his strength. He could do this, he knew he could. There was nothing to be nervous about. It wasn't like he was in front of a thousand or so people waiting to be rejected by the girl of his dreams in front of them. But there was still that fear of rejection. He really loved her and he didn't want to see her run off with someone else. "I don't wanna see you go through someone like Randy again. You never deserved someone like that and he never deserved you. I don't wanna see you get hurt again and I wanna show you that I'll be there for you no matter what. I wanna prove to you that no matter what happens you'll always be safe and that I'll always be there for you. I wanna be there to protect you and be everything to you. No matter what happens, I wanna show you that you'll always have me and Mikey and I want you both to be happy. But I just don't know if I could see you happy with someone else. If you could only know how happy you make me, then that would really make me the luckiest guy in the world. And I would even give up basketball for you and Mikey. That's how much both of you...especially you...mean to me. I finally got permission to do this..."

Ok he was rambling now. But could you blame him? He couldn't get his thoughts straight and everything was so scattered. Chad took a final deep breath and got down on one knee. He pulled out a ring from his pocket and presented it to Taylor. It wasn't like anything else he had. It was the simplest of all things Chad had. The ring was nothing more than a simple god band. Everything else Chad owned had something more to it, but not this ring. There was no need to outdo anything and it wasn't necessary to get something so expensive. He wanted it to be a simple affection of his feelings and he knew that Taylor didn't do things too fancy.

Chad didn't even look up to see her reaction as he let out that one final question. "Taylor McKessie, will you do me the honor of giving me your hand in marriage?"

He finally picked up his head to look at her. He could see the shock and surprise in her eyes. But man, how cute she looked like that. He didn't once take his eyes off of her. Chad was hoping that everything didn't come out the wrong way. There was a long pause before she gave an answer. Chad had no idea what was going on in her head but he wished that he knew. But maybe she was still thinking about her and Randy, when this happened with them. But things were different then. This was for love, not forced because of a baby and rape.

"Chad...I don't know what to say..." she finally stammered, still surprised. It almost sounded as though her voice was choking.

"Say yes, Mom! Say yes!" Michelangelo exclaimed.

Taylor turned to him. "You would really be ok with that?" she asked softly.

"Uh-huh. And he said he'd be my dad. Moms and Dads gotta marry when they have kids." Michelangelo nodded eagerly.

Such a naive little boy he was. If only he knew how true that were in some cases. Not all, some. But still, Michelangelo seemed thrilled about this.

Taylor slowly turned back to Chad, still quiet.

Chad was afraid to take her silence as a rejection. "You're not gonna leave me, are you?" he wondered.

"Of course not." Taylor replied. "Why would you ever think that?" She reached down and pulled him up to her height, even if he was still taller than her. "I never want to leave you, Chad. I love you and I don't want to be with anyone else. I thought we've established that."

"We did." he nodded.

"And what about you giving up basketball?" she then inquired.

"I meant what I said." Chad replied honestly. "I'd give it up for you and Mikey in a heartbeat. You're way more important."

Taylor smiled warmly and hugged Chad. He hugged her back with a hopeful smile. He felt her peck him on the cheek and, caught off guard by it, heat rose to his cheeks slightly.

"Can I take that as a yes?" he asked hopefully.

"You can take that as a heck yes if you wanted to." Taylor giggled.

Chad smiled widely as they broke apart. He took the chance to slip the ring onto her finger before they pulled in tight and shared a deep, passionate kiss.

"Ew, gross." Michelangelo laughed at the sight.

Chad and Taylor pulled away and turned to him. "Hey, try saying that again in ten years." Chad laughed. "Get over here." He pulled Michelangelo into one of his arms and pulled him in tight and his other arm just as tight around Taylor, just like the first time the both of them were in Chad's arms. Chad smiled at how close they were as he turned to Taylor. They shared one more soft, gentle kiss.

"We've got some planning to do, you know." Taylor stated with a smile.

Chad smiled back and nodded, not wanting the moment to end. "Yeah. Yeah we do."

* * *

And there we go. That took almost all morning. xD This was lucky to be in today. But no more updates today. But there will be more stories soon and more updates of this to come. I will see when the next time is I can put something up, and I apologize for taking so long to put up this chapter. ^^' I hope you enjoyed it, but I can't always trust my assumptions. XD So I'ma head off now and enjoy your VDay. And BDay, if anyone else has one today. And another day of Black History Month. Sorry, couldn't forget those either. =P


	6. From Senior to Senior

Ok, my apologies for pretty much not updating anything in a whole day. You have no idea how long i was sitting around trying to remember anything I wanted to put up. xD Now this is based off one of the scenes in HSM3. I guess it's one of the deleted scenes, cause it wasn't seen in the movies...you know, the scene when Taylor's trying to convince Gabriella to go to the early student orientation at Stanford and then Gabriella's mom walks in? Yeah, that scene. Anyway, I finally remembered most of what I wanted to type about this oneshot and it was originally gonna just be a oneshot but then I thought I'd add a little twist to the end and make it a part of these oneshot series. XD So enjoy (hopefully)! ^^  
And as much as I'd love to own HSM like any other potentially obsessed HSM fan, I do not own it.

* * *

"It really is a beautiful ring, Gabriella."

"I know! I still can't believe he asked me."

"We all knew it was coming, Gabriella. Don't sound so surprised."

"I know everyone would joke about us ending up here after college, but I never thought it would happen."

"Well wake up and smell the coffee, sister. It happened and I am going to throw you a bachelorette party before you become a full-time committed woman."

Gabriella giggled. It was true; after dating her high school sweetheart exclusively for six years they were finally engaged. Troy had popped the question earlier that week making Gabriella the happiest woman on the planet. They were now just graduating college, getting together with their best friends for the weekend before having to cram for finals and everything. And after overcoming every obstacle such as Troy's basketball games and school productions, his double majoring, dividing time with him and Gabriella between their families during breaks, Gabriella's multiple amounts of schoolwork, and different schedules for the school years as a whole the pair were still going strong.

So now Gabriella was sitting in her own apartment just out of Stanford's campus with her high school best friend Taylor sitting beside her. Gabriella pulled her hand away from Taylor, who had still been admiring the ring.

"Yeah well that doesn't give you an excuse to constantly stare at my ring either." Gabriella giggled.

"Oh, I know." Taylor shrugged, being the down-to-Earth girl that she was. "But that will give you even more of a reason to show it off to everyone at your bachelorette party."

"Can we please not make a big production out of it?" Gabriella asked hopefully. "Besides, if I'm having a party then Troy should have one, too."

"He can have his own before the wedding." Taylor replied.

"Which will be closer to two years than two weeks." Gabriella pointed out.

"So?" Taylor shrugged as though it was no loss.

Gabriella smiled and rolled her eyes. "And this coming from the girl who told me there would be other guys after high school?"

"Please don't remind me about that." Taylor sighed. "It was bad enough thinking I would have to go through the same thing as well."

"But you never did." Gabriella pointed out. "Last I checked, you and Chad were still together."

"By some form of miracle." Taylor muttered.

"Hey you were the one who transferred back to New Mexico after a year." Gabriella stated. "And you never told us why. You didn't even give any hints."

"Does there always have to be a reason?" Taylor inquired.

"With you, always." Gabriella said as-a-matter-of-factly. That much was true; with Taylor everything had to be rational or else it made no sense.

"But…" Taylor started.

Before she could go any further, Troy and Chad walked into the room, a basketball in Chad's hand. They laughed as they waltzed in and hit high five's before walking over to the girls.

"What'd I tell you?" Troy chuckled. "You got your butt kicked for the fifteenth time today."

"Yeah but I'm at my personal best against you." Chad replied, pointing at his best friend. "I won thirteen games total."

"How long were you two out there?" Taylor raised an eyebrow.

"Just a couple of hours." Chad shrugged.

She looked at him doubtfully. "It's six thirty."

Chad and Troy exchanged glances. They didn't realize they'd been out for so long. "Time flies when you shoot hoops, huh?" Troy asked after a minute, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, we're just glad you had a good time." Gabriella smiled, giving Troy a quick peck. "And you probably worked up an appetite. Should I get some pasta going? It's the quickest thing to make in here."

"Sounds perfect." Troy smiled.

"That reminds me," Taylor stood up and walked over to Troy. "I should offer my congratulations. You picked a good woman, Troy." She gave him a quick hug, and then pointed at him with a serious look. "And remember, if you do anything at all to hurt Gabriella I will personally hire a squad of secret service agents to go after you, find you, take you to the most secluded area in said city, and they will make your life a living hell hole for the remainder of your days."

Troy paused for a minute, trying to keep his award-winning smile on as he usually did. Then again, he also happened to know Taylor and if Troy treated Gabriella as well as he thought he did, then there'd be nothing to worry about. "That all?" he asked. "I thought you were going to go worse than that."

Taylor rolled her eyes and sat back down on the couch.

"Anyway, what were you girls talking about while we were out?" Troy wondered, trying to change the subject.

"Taylor was admiring the beautiful engagement ring you got me." Gabriella smiled, flashing it to Troy as though he hadn't seen it. "And then I reminded her about our minor ordeal in senior year."

"What ordeal?" Chad asked. "Everything was perfect." He sat down beside Taylor and put an arm around her.

"Yeah, for you guys." Troy replied. "Chad you were the one who told me you don't take the girl with you after high school."

Chad's mouth dropped. He couldn't believe Troy had just said that to the girls. They had never even known about the conversation. Taylor's eyes widened and her head snapped over to Chad. "You told him what?" she gasped. "How could you say that?"

Yeah, how _could_ Chad say that? "Well…" he stammered, not exactly sure what to say. What was he thinking when he said it, again?

Taylor moved Chad's arm away from her and folded her arms, giving him her usual icy stare. "Well what?" she questioned.

"Well…I was just trying to keep his head in the game…" he started. It was partially true, anyway. He wanted Troy to focus on finishing high school and going to U of A with him, not worry about Gabriella being over a thousand miles away starting college earlier than they were.

"Keep his head in the game." Taylor repeated. "A likely story. You tell Troy that he can't take the girl with him after high school, yet what do you do? No, scratch that. What do both you _and_ Troy do after high school? Take the girl with you!" She stood up in annoyance and started making her way to the door.

Chad stood up and tried following her. "Tay…" he started.

Taylor spun around to him, causing both of them to stop in their tracks. "What were you even implying, Chad? That you were never even going to make an effort to keep our relationship going after we graduated? That you never even wanted to take me after high school? That I was just a high school fling and then we'd be over as soon as the caps were thrown off?"

"Um, Taylor…" Gabriella spoke reluctantly. She didn't want to make the situation any worse than it already was, but her friend was forgetting a minor part of the equation. Chad hadn't been the only one that gave Troy said advice. "You're also kind of the one who told me that there would be other relationships."

Now Chad's eyes widened as his head snapped from Gabriella back to Taylor. "So you go off on me about what I said to Troy while it's ok for you to tell Gabriella something like that?" he went off. "How could you tell her that there'd be other relationships?"

"I was trying to get Gabriella to do the right thing and go on with her future because clearly Stanford had her name written all over it." Taylor answered simply, her hands now on her hips. Just because she was caught off guard now didn't mean that she would cease to stand her ground. "And if my statistics are correct, technically there _would_ be other relationships after Troy assuming they wouldn't have stayed together after high school."

"Yeah well guess what, they didn't. They stayed strong together." Chad retorted. "And even if technically that would be true, what were you saying about us then? That there'd be other relationships after me, other guys? Did you wanna get outta our relationship that badly?"

"And why would you think that just because I gave Gabriella that advice?" Taylor questioned.

"Because usually the advice you give someone is the advice you would give to yourself if you needed it!" Chad gasped.

"Come on Troy, I think I need help starting dinner." Gabriella said as she slowly got up. She didn't want to be dragged into the argument anymore, let alone listen to it.

"Sure, no problem." Troy nodded. He slowly followed Gabriella into the kitchen, though due to the proximity of the kitchen and living room the two could still hear Chad and Taylor's argument.

"I was just trying to help out my best friend!" Taylor replied.

"And I was trying to help mine, but you don't see me acting like you." Chad argued.

"Too late. You're arguing with me, same as I'm arguing with you. What do you call that?" she retorted.

"I call that fighting." Chad answered. "What is wrong with you, Taylor? Why are you acting like this over something I said four years ago when you said almost the same thing in girl code? Why can't it just be what's said is said so we can forget about it and move on with our lives?" As much as he didn't want to say anything, Chad really was trying to stop himself from fighting. He didn't want to see this, yell like this. But he wanted to know what had been going on in her head. He would have liked to know why Taylor told Gabriella that as well, but what else was there to say if it was for the same reasons as Chad, and that was implying that they wouldn't make it after high school. And look at where they are now…or, about five minutes ago before they went at each others' throats.

"There is nothing wrong with me!" she insisted. "You're the one who started this, anyway."

"How the heck did I start this? You're the one who gave Gabriella that stupid advice first!" Chad replied.

"Well if it's so stupid then why did you give Troy the same thing in your own lunkheaded language?" Taylor mocked him. She wanted to stop fighting, she really did. But thanks to her pride and competitive nature she couldn't. And Taylor wouldn't stop until the argument was in her favor and ultimately won. But she wanted to know what Chad had implied when he told Troy what he did. At least when Taylor told Gabriella what she did, Taylor knew right away that she wouldn't take the advice herself. So how much different was it for Chad when he talked to Troy?

"Why do you put me down like that?" Chad questioned, getting almost completely off topic now. "You go at my throat over one little thing I said and hold a huge grudge over it. Why are you making a big deal out of something I said four years ago that didn't even affect any of us? If we obviously didn't do anything about it then, then why are we arguing about it now?"

Taylor couldn't take this anymore. If she continued arguing, her voice was going to crack. She had to get out of this fast, before the lump in her throat could grow any bigger. She placed her hands on his cheeks almost roughly and look him right in the eyes. "Because I'm in love with you, you lunkhead!" she blurt out.

Chad's eyes widened. He didn't say anything or move an inch. Taylor slowly backed away, realizing what she had just confessed. Sure, it had to mean something that the two stayed together as long as they did even without asying if they loved each other, but still neither had said it to the other. And Taylor was not about to find out where this was going. Not allowing Chad to see her expression, she turned and got out of the apartment as quickly as she could. Chad just stood there, as though he was frozen in time. A blank expression was on his face and he had tuned out everything else around him.

From the kitchen, Troy and Gabriella were now standing in the doorway as they overheard their friends. Troy blinked, trying to process exactly what happened. Did he hear Taylor right? "Um, Gabriella?" he asked, wanting to be sure. "What did she just tell him?"

"Her exact words?" Gabriella asked. She sighed, hoping not to sound too much like her friend when she repeated the statement. "'Because I'm in love with you, you lunkhead.'" She said each word clearly and about a quarter faster than she would have if it were in slow mo.

Troy only gave a single nod. So he did hear right and he wasn't going crazy. "Yeah...that's what I thought."

And the next thing either of them knew, Chad had dropped his basketball and was rushing out the door.

---

Taylor was never one to show her emotions. She often kept things bottled up inside, not wanting people to make a fuss over her. She was stubborn; she never admitted when she needed help nor listened that easily to others. She was independent person, thinking she always did just fine on her own and didn't need to turn to anyone else. She was a strong woman, not afraid to stand up for herself nor to put up a fight when being challenged.

But that wasn't the case now, not as she sat on a swing in a nearby park. All she had thought about was getting away before anyone, especially Chad, could see her. And she had. And from the look on Taylor's face, she didn't look like any of the things she usually was.

Her emotions were showing; like any other girl Taylor could become emotional if provoked enough. Instead of keeping her feelings locked inside of her they were now flowing freely out of her system. She didn't look the least bit stubborn, more like she really did need someone. Even if it was just a stranger to vent to. Even if Taylor wouldn't want to talk right away, it wouldn't be too long before she would just let everything out and perhaps even ask to be held instead of clutching the chains on the swing so tightly. She didn't seem as independent as she once was, more like she had grown used to leaning on someone for assistance when needed; Taylor couldn't be on her own like this for very long. And at the moment she wasn't showing her strong side. She was vulnerable and she didn't want anyone to see that. She couldn't let anyone see her like that if they were just going to take advantage of her or look down at her for being so.

To Taylor, this is what happened when she kept her feelings bottled up for so long and then actually revealing them. As far as she was concerned, love was something never added into her equation. Everything had been planned out. She would head off to Yale on the East Coast and study political science with a minor in biochemistry, then travel back to New Mexico and take further studies into the political system, perhaps even run for mayor or governor to gain more experience. And then some ten years later minimum, she'd run for president of the United States. But she had never expected to fall for someone in the process, or Chad of all people. They were polar opposites. Like basketball and beakers. Serious and funny. Fire and ice. Need more be said?

And now after all that's happened she couldn't even swing on the swing. The only image that could come to Taylor's mind as she thought about going back and forth on the swing was Chad sitting on the swing beside her and they'd be hand in hand, seeing who could go higher than the other. The thought only hurt her more. Clutching the chains even tighter, she looked down and her black bangs fell in front of her face. Her shoulders began shaking and she tuned out anything reality had to hand her nearby.

---

Chad was as stubborn as they came. He never admitted to things easily and would never give into anything. Maybe peer pressure sometimes, but other than that nothing else. He was a comedian, always wanting to make people laugh. He couldn't go a day without cracking at least one joke or pulling a prank once in a while. He was loyal, always there for his friends even during his most selfish times. And he was strong, physically and emotionally. He was strong from working out and always made sure to stand just as strong; and Chad never let his emotions get the better of him or reveal themselves. He was not one to cry even at the worst times or to hit someone if he were that furious at them.

But whether Chad realized it by now or not, things had changed. Hence his reasoning for running all over unfamiliar territor trying to track down Taylor. All he could think about was finding her and talking to her. Judging from the frantic look he held, he was certainly a changed man.

He was ready to admit to anything, to just find Taylor and pour his heart out to her. He would tell her how he was stupid to say anything that he did to Troy and would even relinquish all control of his and Taylor's relationship to her...assuming they still had one, of course. He didn't look like he would find the bright side and start laughing at any second now, either. His look was worried and serious, knowing that he had to find her and talk to her no matter what. There wasn't a single hint in even his eyes that would signal he would pull a joke and burst out laughing in five minutes; that was the furthest thing from his mind unless it was making Taylor laugh. Chad wasn't loyal to either her or his friends at the moment, not with the way he had rushed out on Troy and Gabriella or with the way he had snapped at Taylor earlier. And he was certainly showing his emotions. He was letting them control him, his whole expression showing worry, concern, fear, and struggle. And for once he didn't care who saw him.

Chad put all the blame on himself. He should have told her sooner. Maybe even spent more time with her. But what had he been doing practically since college started? Almost nothing except playing basketball. That was his plan. At first he really didn't expect to take the girl after college. He at first did think she would be nothing more than a fling. And Chad didn't know why, but two years wasn't long enough to date Taylor. He needed more time, even if they would be on opposite sides of the country. The thing was, he never expected to see her again in New Mexico after less than a year. And even then they spent about as much time together as when they weren't in the same state. It wasn't part of his plan, to want to see more of her and to want to be more than just her boyfriend. He didn't care how different they were; Taylor was the one who taught him that opposites attracted.

But he couldn't have his opposite if she wasn't there. Chad had to find Taylor and make up for everything. He couldn't even focus on anything else if she wasn't around. She couldn't even be pushed to the back of Chad's mind for two minutes. All he could think about was her. Holding her, talking to her, being with her.... And now here he was at a park he somehow ended up at, a place that felt like his final resort.

---

"Taylor." Chad sighed with relief as he found her on a swing. But he grew more concerned when she didn't pick her head up to look at him. "Tay, I've been looking all over for you."

"Oh you were, were you?" she asked coolly, looking at him and revealing a tear-strained face.

Chad almost took a step back. She really was vulnerable right now; he hadn't really seen Taylor like this before. "Tay, I need to talk to you." he said. "Please, it's about what I said before..."

"Look, I get it ok?" Taylor replied as she stood up. "A guy shouldn't take the girl after college. We wasted our time with each other and we put off a breakup long enough." She turned around and tried walking away.

Chad shook his head and rushed in front of her to block her way. "You don't really believe that, do you?" he asked hopefully.

Taylor wasn't about to agree with him. But she was down enough as it was; she wasn't going to be pulled down even further. She tried to get it out that a breakup would be the best option, but she couldn't allow herself to do it.

"You don't know what was going on in my head when I told Gabriella there would be other relationships." she stated quietly.

"And you don't know what I thought as soon as I left troy's house after telling him about not taking the girl." Chad replied. "I may have sounded like it was true and that everything was fine and it was no big deal when I said it but that was the last thing on my mind when I left that night."

"And you don't know what I was thinking as soon as I told Gabriella there would be other guys. As soon as it left my mouth I knew I said the wrong thing. And it haunted me all night just thinking about it." Taylor explained. She shook her head and continued, her voice rising with each statement. "Is that what you wanted to hear, Chad? As soon as I said it I didn't just bother Gabriella but I bothered myself. Because it made me think about us and what we'd have to go through after a matter of time. And it made me worry, ok? I was worried that we wouldn't last and that I would have another relationship. And you know what, after everything that we went through together and I got so used to only being with you I didn't want another relationship. I know we never got as serious as Troy and Gabriella but it was good enough for me and I was happy. That was good enough for me. Ok, I didn't want to go out with another guy and I didn't not want to be in a relationship for once. And you want to know the real reason I left Yale? You're going to love this. It was all thanks to you. I couldn't get you out of my head. Every time I tried to focus on my schoolwork, wouldn't you know it, you had to find a way into my thoughts instead. So I came back and gave up on Yale. How does that sound, Chad?"

"And you think you weren't deep in thought about all that?" Chad replied, not even taking a few minutes to absorb all that she said. "I sounded perfectly calm like I knew exactly what I was talking about when I talked to Troy. I even tried to show him that I was in the same perdicament. But you know what, as soon as I drove home I realized that I wasn't in the same situation. At least he and Gabriella would be in the same time zone, on the same side of the country. We'd be on different ends of the country and at first I really didn't think I could take you after high school, that's why I told Troy that. And you know what else? I was scared, ok? I thought that if we did make it past high school then we'd fall apart over a long distance relationship and I wasn't about to let that happen. I didn't wanna get so close to you just to lose you after all that time. I knew what I told Troy was wrong, cause I wanted to take you after high school as much as he wanted to take Gabriella and maybe I thought it was impossible at first, but look at where it got us. It wasn't impossible. We lasted for practically a year separated like that. And you're gonna love this part. Before you even came back to New Mexico I was ready to transfer to some place on the East Coast, even if it was gonna be up in Maine or something. It wouldn't been better than where we were at the time. Now you tell me how that sounds, Taylor!"

"I think it sounds ridiculous! What were you thinking, possibly switching schools like that even before the end of what, the first semester? What were you thinking, Chad? Tell me that!" Taylor demanded.

"After you tell me what you were thinking when you left your dream school just to come back for some lunkhead like me." Chad replied.

And now they were arguing once again, even though that was the last thing they both meant to do.

"I was thinking that I was tired of being so far away from you and my friends and I was feeling homesick. That I wanted to come back home and actually be with you." Taylor answered.

"And I was thinking that I wanted to go anywhere else if it meant I'd be following you instead of being left behind like a stupid basketball person for some brainiac patrol." Chad replied.

"You're impossible, you know that?" she argued.

That was the last straw. "Ok then, tell me how impossible this is." Chad finished. He broke the large gap between him and Taylor and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her in for a tight kiss. Taylor didn't even have a chance to respond because it had happened so fast. She just stood there wide-eyed, frozen in Chad's grasp. As soon as he pulled away, she looked at him with a confused look, almost shaking her head.

"What...?" she started to ask, but finding herself short of words.

Chad just looked right at her, taking a minute to catch his breath before answering again. "Because I'm in love with you, you brainiac." he replied the same way Taylor had before, though in a more quiet voice.

For a minute they just stood there in that position staring at each other. After the unsuspected argument they had just gone through, they took that minute to let everything sink in. They replayed what the other had said in their heads so they could process everything. One thing was for sure, this was not what they both had in mind when they originally wanted to confess their feelings.

Taylor cocked her head slightly and let her eyes meet with Chad's. "You were really considering transferring to another college just to see me?" she asked softly.

"Of course." Chad nodded. "The only reason I didn't go through with it was cause my folks would never go for it. And you really left Yale just to see me?"

"It's not like anyone who becomes president would have had to attend Yale for political science." Taylor replied. "But yes, I did."

Chad only smiled at her as he shook his head in content. He moved some hair out of her face and stroked her cheek in the process. "You really are amazing, you know that?"

Taylor smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're not so bad yourself." she replied. She began leaning in towards him, as Chad did towards her, until they had to break apart courtesy of Taylor's cell phone. She sighed and reluctantly pulled it out. "It's Gabriella." she said, recognizing the caller ID. "She's probably worried sick about us."

"We're alive, aren't we?" Chad shrugged. "Just text her and tell her we'll be back later."

She quirked an eyebrow at Chad. "Ok what exactly are you insinuating, Chad?"

"C'mon Tay. We're in a quiet deserted park on a clear moonlit night with no one else around..." he started.

"Normally when one says 'deserted' it's implied that no one else is around." Taylor corrected.

"Exactly." Chad nodded. "So when are we gonna get another chance like this?"

Taylor sighed, "You can turn the romance level up a notch when we get back to Gabriella's and tell her that we made up and everything is fine because we cannot keep her worrying-" She was cut off by a gentle peck from Chad on the lips. Taylor blinked, caught off guard for the moment, and then shook her head. "Ok if you seriously think..." she started again. But once more, she was cut off by his lips. Taylor paused and thought for a minute. He was really trying to seduce her, wasn't he? "Well...maybe staying out here for a little longer couldn't hurt anyone...." she finally caved.

"I knew you'd see it my way." Chad grinned.

Taylor rolled her eyes playfully as she turned her phone off and tucked it away. "You really need to learn when to keep your mouth shut, Danforth." she said softly before kissing him. Chad accepted and deepened the kiss moments later. One hand began roaming the others' hair as Chad's free hand pulled Taylor closer, wrapping around her back, and Taylor's rested on one of his shoulders. It took them a while to pull away, feeling so comfortable with each other. And all they had to do to get from arguing to making out was to talk it out...and maybe argue just a tiny bit more in the process.

When Chad pulled away, he did it smiling as he rested his forehead against her's. "So, what can I do to be more than just your boyfriend?" he finally asked.

"Ok now I know you're going somewhere with this." Taylor stated.

"Maybe possibly down an isle." he nodded.

Now Taylor knew where this was going. There was shock in her eyes, as the idea seemingly came out of nowhere, but then again why seem shocked when she could turn it around and just tease him? "You're just scared to ask the real question yourself."

"What, who me?" Chad asked innocently. "No, never."

"So then ask it." she told him.

"But you already know what it is." Chad replied.

"Doesn't mean I don't want to hear it." Taylor said. "Don't make this a repeat of prom, Chad."

Well when he did extend Taylor the 'informal' invitation that day it did end with her pushing his basketball into the hall and he had to make up for that minor mishap by asking her out in front of the whole school during lunch. He still had yet to figure out if she had just been testing him that day, if she wanted every other girl to know that he was taken, or if she was trying to trick him somehow.

"Maybe I don't want to." he lied, just trying to find a way around it.

"Alright then. Have it your way." Taylor replied as though it made no difference to her. She pulled away from Chad completely and turned on her heel, starting to walk away.

Great, a worse repeat of his informal prom invitation. Chad took a deep breath. The question seemed to escape him faintly. "Marry me?"

Taylor turned to face him only a fourth of the way, her arms folded as she quirked an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, I can't hear you."

Chad blinked. "Tay, we're not in a cafeteria. There's no one to quiet down or announce anything to or keep anyone in suspense for an answer."

"Alright then..." she replied slowly as she started walking away again.

"No, wait!" Chad called, which got her to stop. She was really making him work for this. Or maybe she just liked seeing him make a fool of himself. Hey, maybe one day Chad would look back on it and laugh. What could it hurt, right? He looked around the park for a minute and then climbed into one of the trees nearby. Taylor just kept her arms folded as she watched him, trying to hold in a minor laugh as she watched him struggle to get onto one of the branches. As soon as Chad got onto the designated branch, he grabbed onto the one above his head so he could use it for support and so he wouldn't fall over. He cleared his throat and waved his free arm like he was trying to tell her what a big gesture it was. "Taylor, will you mar-"

He was interrupted by her giggling. "Ok Chad, I get it. You can come down now." Besides, she didn't want to see him lose his balance and fall.

"No way. You got me up here so I'm gonna do this." Chad insisted, pointing at her, not realizing he was using the hand that had been gripping onto the top branch. "Trust me, I'm gonna shout it out and wake up the surrounding neighbors' dogs if I have to. So I ask you, Taylor, will you mar-mar-" He started stuttering as he began losing his balance on the branch from moving so much. Taylor cupped her hands over her mouth, with a mixed expression of humor and horror. Hey it was funny to see Chad stumble so much but he could really hurt himself if he fell. Nevertheless, Chad attempted to finish his statement. "Mar-mar-" he continued until he finally fell backwards off the branch, nearly screaming, "meeeee?" as he fell down and hit the ground.

Taylor rushed over to him, knowing that even if the fall itself wasn't that nasty he could still be hurting. "Are you alright?" she asked, sitting beside him and leaning over him.

"I'd feel less pain if I got a kiss." Chad pouted, even though it was clear that he was pretty much just fine.

Taylor smiled and rolled her eyes. She pecked him on the forehead.

Chad smiled as he looked up at her. "So is that a yes?" he asked hopefully.

"Maybe." she teased. "Do you have a ring to go with it?"

Chad chuckled as he arched his back just enough to pull a small ring from his back jeans pocket and hold it up. "You're so materialistic. Just be glad this didn't end up in the washer when I cleaned these pants."

"On second thought, I don't want it." Taylor shook her head right away.

"You know you do." Chad playfully rolled his eyes. "Or do you just want the giant package that comes with it?"

Taylor laughed and smiled. "Yeah. You are right." she replied. She rested her body on top of his and kissed him. Chad didn't even hesitate before kissing her back and wrapping his arms around her as it slowly turned into something more (not too much more for a park, of course).

Forget about taking the girl after high school, he was taking his girl after college!

---

"Troy, I'm getting worried." Gabriella said as she continued to pace around her bedroom. "Taylor didn't answer her phone and she didn't call back, and they didn't come back yet..."

Troy sighed and put his hands on Gabriella's shoulder. "Gabs, relax." he said calmly. "I'm sure they're fine. They're probably in some romantic area making out like we'd be doing right now."

Gabriella raised an eyebrow at him. "Really, that would be their quickest makeup ever." she said doubtfully.

"Well, you never know." Troy shrugged.

She shook her head. "I'm going to see if they came back yet. If not I'm giving Taylor another call and you should call Chad."

Troy held up his hands in defeat. Sometimes Gabriella worried about their friends a little too much. "Whatever you say, Gabriella."

Gabriella walked out of the bedroom and adjourned into the living room. It appeared empty at first and Gabriella felt crushed, knowing that their best friends weren't back yet and she had started the argument that caused them to leave. But then she heard breathing. Faint breathing. Gabriella raised an eyebrow and slowly tiptoed over to the couch. As she got closer, she could start to see a head of curly hair. A lot of hair. She covered her mouth in attempt to keep herself quiet. Gabriella walked closer and then, now standing beside the couch and looking over it, held in a gasp as she saw Chad and Taylor sleeping on the couch ever so comfortably. Judging from the slight wrinkle in their clothes and how their hair was a little less than neat, Gabriella figured they had spent a lot of time kissing. How long had they been on the couch, anyway? She never even heard the door open. Gabriella snapped out of her thoughts and nearly jumped back, hearing Chad stir in his sleep. Luckily, all he did was stir. Chad cuddled in closer to Taylor and nuzzled his head aginst her hair, and that looked like it caused Taylor to raise one of her arms and wrap it around his back, him sleeping on top of her.

Gabriella sighed with relief. They were back and alive. It was good to know they hadn't killed each other. But then she blinked, taking a closer look at Taylor's hand. There was a ring on her finger; Gabriella didn't remember that before. Wait a minute - Chad had run out to apologize to Taylor...they must have talked it out...they probably started kissing...so at some point in the middle of it all he must have....

Gabriella involuntarily squealed. But realizing they were both asleep, she quickly covered her mouth again, hoping she didn't wake them. Chad's head moved slightly and Taylor clutched Chad's shirt a bit tightly and then loosened her grip again. Gabriella bit her tongue even to hold in a sigh of relief. She hoped they got a good sleep while it lasted.

Because come morning, the couple would have a lot of explaining to do.

* * *

Well that took longer than I thought. Worked on this before and after studying Economics and then the last section when I woke up today. o_0 I really have no life. But this oneshot also turned out to be longer than I thought it would. One idea led to another and bam, you got a long oneshot. So that should do it for now then, I'll see when the next time is that I can update these oneshots. And hopefully between school and work today I will not have writer's block for anything else or else that would make it a fairly boring Friday, wouldn't it? -_-


	7. Wedding Reception

So I've been really slow with my updates, or so I've felt, this week. And i'm having serious writer's blocks. So I may need help to decide what to do next as far as a story goes. I only have two ideas and I have no idea how to start them. Both stories are on my previews chapter in my HSM future story, previews two and four, I think. So, I've had a few ideas for these particular oneshots but I've honestly just been too lazy to update them. So I'm making it up with this chapter. So if you love fluff, I'll make it as fluffy as I can for you without my lunch making a return appearance. xD Oh c'mon, let a girl have a few laughs?  
As usual, the disclaimer is that I do not own HSM. But man, how cool would that be?

* * *

"Hey hey hey, there they are!" Chad Danforth cheered as he saw his best friend walk over with his bride in his arms. "The lovey-dovey couple!"

"Very funny man." Troy Bolton chuckled half sarcastically as he man-hugged him. "Remember that line, cause I'll make sure to say it to you when your big day comes."

"Whoa, let's get through one day at a time." Chad said once they did their secret handshake. "We've gotta finish your big day in one piece. So you and Gabs hafta enjoy yourselves."

"Believe me, we will." Troy nodded. "And thanks again for being the best man."

"Hey, anything for my bro." Chad grinned cockily. "Or fake bro."

"Hilarious." Troy rolled his eyes. He pat Chad on the back and headed over to talk to his parents. They wanted to see him and Gabriella Montez - or rather Bolton - together after many long hours. It was their wedding day, after all. A simple garden wedding of their closest friends and family, just what they had agreed on. Numerous circular tabls were set up around the area covered in tables clothes, most facing towards a thin stage where everyone could do some karaoke, and right in front of the stage was a dance floor for everyone to break down on. Opposite end of that was the table full of foods and desserts, and off to the right side of that was the drink bar, mostly just containing caffeinated drinks or other beverages like water. Everyone was dressed in the casual black and white or one of the colors picks for the wedding...which didn't really narrow it down because the color scheme decided was rainbow, so nearly any color could be worn. But Troy and Gabriella never wanted anything too fancy, especially with Troy being a sports agent he wasn't taking a strong liking to such things. Gabriella was a math teacher so she was used to everything being so simple, aside from moving so much in her childhood. But Troy had always enjoyed the simpler things himself, so forget the poofy wedding dresses or a remake of Bridezilla. As long as everything was simple and they had their loved ones around, nothing else mattered.

Chad could only imagine what his big day would be like - assuming he would have one. Maybe it was too soon to tell but that never stopped him from preparing. He was just happy to be there for his best friend on such an important day. But now with Troy going back to his family, that left Chad alone. He briefly glanced through the crowd, trying to spot any other of their shared friends. There was Sharpay Evans smiling seductively at Zeke. Chad could only imagine what she was trying to get him to do later...or maybge it was just trying to get him to dance with he, her way. Who knew anymore? Kelsi Neilson was working on spinning some records like a real DJ as Ryan Evans danced it up on the dance floor with some of Troy's and Gabriella's cousins. Gabriella had caught up with Troy so they could talk with his parents, and that meant it wouldn't be long before Gabriella's mom joined in on their conversation. Luckily someone did catch Chad's eye that he could interact with, not to mention lighten up his day even more. He walked over to his longtime girlfriend and wrapped his arms around her.

"Hey, there you are." he smiled. "The bride's maid...maid of honor...whatever you were, you were great."

Taylor McKessie giggled as she turned to him. "You really pay no attention, do you?" she asked.

"Probably not." he admitted with a chuckle. "So, having fun?"

"Yes I am. Gabriella is overjoyed and I already gave Troy the 'if you do anything to harm my best friend I'm going to make sure your life's as good as over before you even get another year closer to your midlife crisis' speech." she nodded.

"Hey you know Troy would never hurt Gabs. He's crazy about her." Chad said.

"I know. But a girl can never be too careful." she playfully shook her finger at him.

Chad chuckled, taking that as his opportunity. He playfully grabbed her finger and used that to pull her in for a kiss.

Taylor giggled as he pulled back a moment later. "You are in a really good mood."

"There's a good reason to be isn't there? We're at our best friends' wedding right near a big garden maze." Chad said. "So what do you say we hit the dance floor?"

"I'd be honored." Taylor smiled. "Let's see if you can still dance as well as you can win over girls."

Chad chuckled as he took her hand and led her over to the dance floor. "Trust me, there's only one girl I need to win over and I'm dancing with her." He spun Taylor around and then slipped his suit jacket onto her.

-C-T-A-H-Y-L-A-O-R-D-

"Aw, what a happy scene. The happy newlywed couple feeding each other cake." Chad teased as he walked over to the table Troy and Gabriella were sitting at.

Gabriella giggled, covering her mouth to stop the crumbs of cake from falling out.

"It's our wedding. We'll feed each other cake if we want to." Troy said calmly. "I don't see you and Taylor sharing a slice."

"That's because I'm eating both of our slices. I'm feeling like a sugar rush today." Taylor stated as she sat down.

"Wait, when do I get my slice?" Chad whined.

"You don't." Taylor shook her head. She let him look shocked for a minute, then smiled to show she was only joking.

"So where are you guys off to after the reception?" Chad wondered, changing the subject.

"The airport, where else?" Troy joked.

Gabriella swallowed her food and giggled. "California. SeaWorld and Disneyland for two weeks." she answered.

"Sure, Troy gets all the good ideas." Chad muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Actually I just suggested SeaWorld, and DisneyLand was Gabriella's idea." Troy said. He smirked and added, "Jealous you didn't think of either of them yourself?"

"No, cause you're gonna be jealous when I come up with something better." Chad replied.

"Ok so tell me when your wedding or honeymoon is?" Troy teased.

"I have no idea." Chad shook his head.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "I'm going to get a drink." she decided as she stood up and walked away.

Chad blinked. "Was it something I said?"

"Probably." Troy assumed.

"More like definitely." Gabriella said. She stood up and took Chad over to the side. "No offense, but you really should know when to not open your big mouth."

"My mouth is really that big?" Chad asked.

"That's not what I mean." Gabriella said. "You're talking about something like a wedding, acting like it's no big deal. And do you realize who you're talking about it in front of? Taylor is going to think you don't care about something like that. Never make a wedding sound like it's not a big deal to a girl. Unless they never plan on getting married, and I doubt that's the case with Taylor."

"So basically she's gonna make me feel sorry for downgrading a possible future for her." Chad assumed.

"In a way, most likely." Gabriella replied. "Look how long you've been with her for. Do you really want to throw it all away now?"

"No, of course not." Chad shook his head. "Almost half of high school and all four years of college...do you really think after all that I can just end it?"

"I hope not." Gabriella said. "So what are you going to do then?"

"That's just it..." Chad said reluctantly. He looked around to make sure no one else was listening. Still, just to be on the safe side, he lowered his voice to a whisper. "I don't know exactly what to do. I've only got half of the plan."

"And what half is that?" Gabriella wondered.

"Pour my heart out to her and hope I don't get kicked where it hurts most." Chad answered.

"Your heart?" Gabriella raised an eyebrow.

"No, lower." Chad replied.

Gabriella just shook her head. "You do know you need to do something really romantic for her, right?" she asked.

"There's just one problem with that." Chad said. "Romance and actually being romantic...it's not exactly my strong point."

"You know that's not true." Gabriella told him.

"Look, I'm not Troy. I can't sweep any girl off her feet or give her the time of her life or be a perfect gentleman at a candlelight dinner." Chad explained. "I'm not a real romantic like Troy can be."

"You don't have to be a real romantic to show Taylor that you care. Just be yourself." Gabriella assured Chad. "Listen, she already knows you care. She sees things in you no one else does. Opposites attract, remember? As long as you show her somehow that she means something to you, she'll be happy. And she'll be happy with you."

"So...you mind sharing any ideas then?" he wondered.

"I can't help you through everything. Friend or no friend." Gabriella replied.

"Then at least help me when I think of a plan?" he nearly begged. "All I know is that I need some kind of backup. I can't do it on my own without screwing up somehow."

"I can do that much." she agreed. "But you need to come up with the idea yourself."

Chad grinned and nodded. "Mrs. Bolton, you have got yourself a deal." Wait a minute...that was it! Chad snapped his fingers and his smile only grew. "Gabs, I've got the perfect idea. I know exactly what to do!"

-C-T-A-H-Y-Y-A-O-R-D-

"Man when they said they were gonna 'bop to the top' they weren't joking." Troy chuckled after Sharpay and Ryan had their turn with karaoke. He hit Ryan a high five as he walked by and grinned. "Those guys never cease to amaze me."

"You can't keep karaoke going much longer." Jack Bolton informed his son as he passed by. "Remember, your flight leaves at nine p.m. sharp tonight. You don't want to miss it."

"We know Dad. Don't worry." Troy promised. "If we wrap everything up in an hour we'll make it there with time to spare. Just a little longer."

Jack nodded as he walked back over to the remainder of his family members.

"So, about an hour left huh Troy?" Gabriella inquired.

"Looks like it." Troy nodded. "We'd better wrap everything up soon. Toast friends and family, clean up, and get out."

"Well...there is time for one more round of karaoke right?" Chad asked.

"Yeah...Chad and I do sort of have plans to get up there." Gabriella admitted.

Troy blinked and looked at her. "What?" he asked wide-eyed.

Taylor just shook her head, her arms folded and her legs crossed. "What are you trying to pull Chad? Your same usual jokes?"

"I thought you liked my same usual jokes." Chad said with a small shrug, trying to defend himself.

"Sorry, but I think you have enough jokes to deal with. I can find my own ride home tonight." Taylor replied as she stood up. "And when I say home, I mean my home."

Chad sighed as she got up and moved herself to another table.

Gabriella could see the discouraged look on Chad's face. "Are you ready to do this?"

Chad looked up and gave a nod. "Yeah." he answered. "I'm ready to prove something to Taylor." He pushed himself up from his seat and made his way towards the stage.

Troy raised an eyebrow and looked at Gabriella. "What...?"

"Just trust me." Gabriella said calmly before getting up and following Chad. She stepped up onto the stage and took one of the microphones on its stand, glancing up at Chad. She could tell his eyes were nervously on Taylor. "You ok?" she asked him quietly.

"Yeah." he nodded. "Just trying to work up the nerve to go through with this."

"You can do it." Gabriella encouraged. She gave him a friendly pat on his shoulder and then walked over to the side as the music started.

Chad took a deep breath as he heard the melody softly escape the speakers. He gulped and exhaled, then opened his mouth and, eyes closed, let the matching words leave his lips.

_"Lately I've been thinking_

_About the things that we've been through_

_And I don't know if I'd be here_

_If not for you_

_I had to take a little time_

_To try to work things out_

_But you should know that_

_I had never meant to let you down..."_

That was Gabriella's cue to step forward and quietly sing with him, their voices softly blending together. But unlike him, she appeared slightly more confident from more experience singing in front of others, and her eyes were open, locking pupils with Troy.

_"Cause I, I_

_Wanna tell you that I'm sorry_

_And I, I_

_Even when I'm not giving enough_

_And I'm taking too much_

_You're still there for me_

_Even when I've got nothing at all_

_And I'm ready to fall_

_You're still there for me_

_There for me_

_There for me_

_Even when I can't be there for you..."_

Chad slowly opened his eyes and could see everyone watching him. And Chad knew what the next step was. He breathed out the next line and slowly walked off the stage, his microphone still in hand and occasionally filling in a few lines as backup for Gabriella.

_"You're always there for me"_

That was when Gabriella took over the vocals for the verse. Troy took that opportunity to rise from his seat and move closer to the stage, eyes locking up right into Gabriella's.

_"Sometimes I know I can be_

_So hard to understand (it's ok)_

_Even when I'm lost you show me_

_Who I really am_

_Life with me hasn't always been_

_An easy ride_

_But because of you I've learned_

_To lose my selfish pride..."_

Gabriella leaned down towards Troy, as though she were singing right to him. And as she did, Chad continued advancing towards the table Taylor was sitting at until he was almost standing in front of her chair.

_"Cause I, I_

_Wanna tell you that I'm sorry_

_And I, I_

_Even when I'm not giving enough_

_And I'm taking too much_

_You're still there for me_

_Even when I've got nothing at all and I'm ready to fall..."_

At that point, Gabriella took Troy's hand as he held it out to her and he jumped onto the stage facing her, their profiles towards the crowd. At the same time, Chad offered his hand to Taylor as he continued singing. Taylor slowly reached out and took Chad's hand and gently pulled her out of her seat, beginning to lead her back towards the stage. He walked backwards, his eyes never once off of her.

_"You're still there for me_

_There for me_

_There for me_

_Even when I can't be there for you_

_Oh, you're always there for me, yeah..."_

Now Chad and Gabriella stood back to back, a few feet away from each other, facing their respective others. And with it being Chad's turn to take over the song, all eyes were on him. His hand was still grasping onto Taylor's, and as he sang his heart out to her his eyes were trapped in hers.

_"Oh no it's love_

_Ooooooohhh_

_It must be love..."_

His hand left hers as he moved it up to her cheek, gently cupping it. Taylor stood there shocked for a minute, most likely just taking in the whole scene, but as if on impulse, her hand almost immediately covered his and her other hand slowly slid up onto his shoulder. And as Gabriella's voice blended in with Chad's in the background briefly, her eyes were just as much on Troy as Chad's were on Taylor and Troy's arm scooted around Gabriella's waist and her hand nearly tugged on his suit jacket, giving her all into the song.

_"It's gotta be real love (It's gotta be real love)_

_Even when I'm not giving enough_

_And I'm taking too much_

_You're still there for me_

_Even when I've got nothing at all_

_And I'm ready to fall..."_

Gabriella acted as though she would tip over backwards, but Troy only smirked playfully as he pretended to pull her straight up again. And as they did so, Chad's hand left Taylor's cheek and found its way around her, giving her the chance to wrap both of her arms around his neck, her knees themselves becoming weak already.

_"You're still there for me_

_There for me_

_There for me"_

Gabriella's voice fainted and Chad's temporarily took over, his voice soft and calm as he slowly put his forehead up against Taylor's, their eyes remaining lost in each other and neither making an effort to move.

_Even when I can't be there for you_

_(When I can't be there)..."_

Gabriella's hand was now on Troy's shoulder as she looked right up at him, her voice taking over the next line and as gentle as Chad's was.

_"Even when I can't be there for you..."_

The two took one deep breath to get in the last line, the merging of their vocals heard one last time.

_"You're always there for me"_

Now as it was Troy's and Gabriella's wedding, most eyes were on those two. The newlyweds smiled at each other and, even with the microphone still in Gabriella's hand, they pulled each other in for a kiss. And while everyone admired them, Chad and Taylor remained on the opposite side of stage, the microphone far away from each others' mouths so only they could hear the other.

Taylor's mouth constantly opened and closed, as though she were trying to find the right words to describe what was going on, what she was thinking, what she was even feeling right now. The evidence of shock was right there on her face, but still she remained speechless. It was as if she couldn't even begin to register what was going on except for the obvious. Chad was singing about her. Heck, forget about her! He was singing _to_ her, pouring his heart out to her. And in front of all of Troy's and Gabriella's guests. That, even just the singing by itself, was so not Chad.

But Chad on the other hand, just smirked playfully. Just the look on Taylor's face made it all the more enjoyable. But his smirk quickly turned into a gentle smile and, whether or not everyone was still watching his best friend, he had turned them all out completely. And as he continued to look at her, he opened his mouth to speak, like what he was singing wasn't enough, like he was trying to get out his message all along.

"I love you Taylor." he said almost in a whisper.

And much quicker, to Chad's surprise, than it seemed to be, Taylor responded the same way. "I love you, too, Chad."

Chad took that as his opportunity to hug her close, and he did. He wrapped his arms around her back and waist and Taylor's arms remained around his neck, their heads on each others' shoulders. They were lost in their own little world now, not even caring if Troy and Gabriella were done with their scene or if all eyes were on them or if everyone had left. But they couldn't just stand there in the silence forever.

"I shouldn't have opened my big fat mouth before." Chad shook his head quietly. "I should really stop doing that so you wouldn't storm out and hate me."

"You're a bigger lunkhead than you deserve credit for sometimes." she replied. "And FYI, I love you and your big fat mouth. Even if it does get you into trouble most of the time."

Chad chuckled at her statement and pecked her on the cheek, or of what he could reach of it. He rested his head back on her shoulder, his cheek brushing up against her hair. He could feel the softness of her wavy locks against his skin and wanted so much to just run his fingers through it if it weren't for the mic he was still holding. But instead he breathed soundly, knowing that he felt comfortable with his body against hers and her body in his arms. Chad didn't want it to end but he knew he'd have to let her go, if only to go back to conversing with their friends and take their seats for the remainder of the reception. But Chad didn't want to let Taylor go. Not until he made things right indefinitely.

"Marry me." he whispered.

Taylor blinked, her grip around him loosening a bit. "What?"

Chad slowly pulled away, his arms remaining around her. Taylor's hands had slugged down to just under his shoulders, but they were still grasping onto each other. Chad took a deep breath, not wanting to sound forceful but still wanting to make his statement, no matter who was watching and listening.

"I...I want you to marry me. I mean...I want to know if you want to marry me. I mean...I want you to know if you want to marry me." Chad stammered, the confidence coming in at the start of each sentence and disappearing in between each hesitation.

"This coming from the guy who was making those comments about weddings earlier?" Taylor inquired, her voice soft and delicate.

"I opened my mouth and I wasn't thinking." Chad admitted. "But if you only knew how many times I thought about us...how many times I ever pictured our possible wedding in my mind...even where we could travel after that for a few weeks."

"If you ever felt that way, why the reason for keeping quiet?" Taylor wondered. "Why not talk about it?"

"I'm not perfect, Tay. I'm not a romantic, I'm not rich or classy like you, I can't always get you everything you'd like.... I don't even know if I'm just some disaster waiting to happen." he explained.

"Chad you don't have to be perfect or get me anything fancy just to win me over or convince me to marry you." Taylor said. "You can be romantic when you want to be and you can get me anything I like just fine. You don't have to shower me with gifts or woo me with a sappy love song, and you're certainly not a disaster waiting to happen. If anything you've been a butterfly waiting to hatch from its cocoon."

Chad chuckled at the analogy. "So you're comparing me to a girlie insect." he joked. "I didn't realize I was that beautiful."

Taylor giggled. "You are to me."

Chad smiled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small case, holding it in front of Taylor despite how close their bodies still were. "So about that proposal...?" he wondered.

Taylor just smiled and placed a hand over the case. "Yes."

Such a simple answer but said with so much feeling and meaning so much. Chad smiled as Taylor did, and he began reaching for the case with his other hand to open it. But Taylor only clutched the box tighter, causing him to look away from it and at her.

"I don't need to see the ring, Chad." she told him.

"Why not? I have to put it on your finger..." he replied, a bit perplexed.

"I know." she nodded with a smile. "But I know I'll love it no matter what it looks like."

Chad smiled, knowing neither of them had to say anything else. He pulled her in close again and they shared a gentle yet loving kiss. They could hear everyone cheering in the background and they both smiled into the exchange, but neither pulled away. Taylor's hands remained on his chest and while Chad was still holding the case in his one hand, his other had gone around Taylor's back. A moment later he tried opening the case and taking one of Taylor's hands so he could slip the ring on. But Taylor wouldn't let him see to it. Her arms snagged his neck and pulled him in deeper, causing him to drop the case and the microphone onto the ground. But Chad didn't care; it made it all the easier for him. He just wrapped his arms right back around her. And as much as they would have loved to stay in that position, Chad knew that it would only be a matter of time before someone called something out like, "get a room" or anything to that extent. The couple slowly pulled out of their kiss before anyone could say such a thing, luckily enough, and they smiled at each other.

"So, are you still going home after this?" Chad inquired as he cocked his head with that cheesy grin.

Taylor only smiled widely and shook her head. "I think we'll stick to the original plan. Us, your house, all night. We've got some planning to do."

"Yeah." he nodded, his face softening into an easier grin. Chad rested his forehead against hers and hugged her tighter, clearly enjoying their moment. "Yeah we do."

* * *

And there we go. Maybe not as fluffy as I thought it'd be, and I did take all day to write this in between tons of homework. -_-' Yeah, not fun. Art, economics, and reading for writing. Ok, I didn't do the economics yet but I did the art and started the reading. I was hoping to save this chapter for later, since for some reason I always get an image like this when I listen to the song "Still There for Me". And yeah, a lot of songics of this song have been done, I know. So, just one more to add to the cliché, right? XD So, lemme know what you think, if you like!


	8. The Bet

Ok so I know I haven't updated this in like forever. Guess it was like a temporary hiatus. I kept coming up with a couple of ideas but I never followed through with them. This one, I actually came up with while I was at a friend's house watching the Simpsons. And this doesn't even have anything to do with the Simpsons it's just an idea that randomly came to me while I was doing it. So anyway, for those of you who are still interested in reading this I will just end this a/n here and let you get to reading.  
Disclaimer: Do any of us on here own anything?

* * *

Chad Danforth walked in through the front door of the two bedroom bachelor pad that he shared with his best friend Troy Bolton. He took his jacket and threw it off to the side, then slumped onto the seat on the couch next to Troy. He folded his arms and made a pouting face. Troy could tell right away that something was up with Chad. He raised an eyebrow at his friend and decided to find out what was going on.

"What's up with you Chad? Bad night out on the town?"

"Yeah. I thought I found a good girl to hook up with but it turned out to be a big dud." Chad sighed. "I was completely bored all night."

"Why do you bother with that? You know it's the same thing every time. You think you meet a girl and have a one night stand with her then thinking it's nothing but boring." Troy replied.

"Dude I can't help it. There's no interesting girls around or anything." Chad complained. "I meet them and I think they're great but then…I get to know them." He shuddered at the end of his sentence.

"You have one friend who's a girl." Troy pointed out.

"Who, Taylor?" Chad raised an eyebrow. "Dude she's like my sister. How could I have any feelings for her at all?"

"I don't know man, she's pretty crazy about you." Troy replied.

Chad shook his head. He highly doubted that. He and Taylor McKessie grew up together. Their parents were close friends so they've known each other since they were in diapers. She was the good girl and he was the trouble maker. But she was there with him through it all. Chad appreciated her for it, he really did; Taylor meant a lot to him. Plus, she was the only girl he could ever go to for advice on anything or especially girls. But that was what she did, that was why she was like his sister. Chad doubted she could be anything more to him than that, and something told him that there was no way she could ever have the same feelings for him that Troy was talking about nor could he ever love her like that. They were friends and siblings, nothing more. Chad was insistent on that.

"I don't think so man. Taylor's not for me." Chad shook his head. Then a grin came on his face and he snapped his fingers. "That's it! I can go to Taylor for advice. She'll know how to get me out of this slump with girls."

"Don't you think you're overreacting or something?" Troy asked. "Why are you so desperate anyway?"

"Dude look, everyone I know has a girl. Jason has his high school sweetheart. Zeke's been married to his girl for years. Ryan's been disowned and his girl never left him once. They got married last month. And you just got engaged to your girl after you lost your pad and had to move in here. I don't have a girl. I've been on my own since I left high school and it's getting old. I need a girl." Chad replied.

Troy just laughed. "Dude there's no way you could ever settle down."

"Wanna bet?" Chad questioned.

"I could go for one." Troy replied.

"Alright. Then I bet that I can settle down with a girl and plop the question any time before you're married."

Troy would enjoy seeing that…not to mention seeing Chad make a total fool of himself. "You're on."

-CT-CT-CT-CT-

A wide smile came on Taylor's face as Chad walked into her condo. She watched as he stepped through the door and she closed it ever so casually behind him. "Hey." She greeted. "When you said you were coming over I didn't realize you meant this soon."

"Sorry. I just really needed some advice. I got some problems." Chad replied.

"Ok, like what?" Taylor asked. She loved helping Chad out. Sometimes it seemed like the closest she could ever get to him. Obviously there was no way they could ever be a couple. Taylor was pretty accepting of that but somehow she was still hoping that he would come around and they could get together.

"All the guys are hooked up with some girl except me. I need some advice on how to get one." Chad admitted sitting down on the couch.

"You don't need a girl to be happy Chad." Taylor shook her head, sitting beside him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Chad said. "I'd love to settle down with a girl."

"No you wouldn't. You just want to follow the fad and do what your friends do. Why should it matter? You'll find her when the time is right." Taylor promised. And hey, it wouldn't hurt to try and throw the idea out there. "You never even know where she can be. Maybe even in this very room."

"Tay the only people in this room are you and me. I need a girl who I can be with, settle down with." Chad replied.

So much for that. She really would have liked to try though. It wasn't Taylor's fault she had grown feelings to Chad over the years. But she's seen him been through so much. She's seen him in his worst and at his best. And she really wished it meant something. But it didn't seem to be working.

"You can't rush fate Chad. Maybe it has something in store for you. You don't question. You just act on it." Taylor answered.

"I don't get it." Chad sighed.

"Maybe the best thing to do would be to sit back and wait for a sign. You're looking for your dream girl, right? Well when you see her out there then you'll know." As much as it pained Taylor to say all that she knew it was true. Hopefully it would be able to help him. It didn't matter if his path was leading to hers or not; Chad's happiness was all that mattered to Taylor. And no matter what the outcome, she'd still love him.

"Well…. I guess you do have a point." Chad admitted.

"Just think about it Chad." Taylor replied.

Chad nodded and did as he was told. "This is why I can go to you for anything."

"Right, of course." Taylor nodded. "That's all I'm here for."

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

Following Taylor's advice Chad couldn't even describe how thrilled he was. He felt like he was really getting back in the game. Almost every girl he had a fling with it lasted more than one night. For him, that was an accomplishment. One-night stands seemed to be a thing of the past. And anything he could do to show Troy up he'd be thrilled to. Now Taylor was glad she could help out, she really was. But just knowing that every time Chad was with a girl that wasn't her…it hurt. And for some reason it hurt more than it did. She couldn't put her finger on it why.

Gabriella Montez watched as her friend became more and more nervous. Gabriella may have been a busy woman, but she always had time for Taylor. And since whatever has been going on, as Taylor had not told her anything, Gabriella's concern for her friend increased immensely. Taylor wasn't being herself and she seemed to have gotten a lot more sensitive.

"Tay do you want to tell me what's bothering you any time soon?" she finally asked.

"Gabriella, no. I'm fine. Nothing's wrong with me." Taylor answered right away.

Gabriella blinked. Taylor had answered a little too quickly. "I never said anything was wrong with you."

"Right, right." Taylor shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm just a little…"

"Jumpy?" Gabriella finished.

"Maybe just a little." Taylor squeaked.

She folded her arms. "This doesn't by any chance have anything to do with Chad does it?"

"What?" Taylor's mouth dropped. "No…. No of course it doesn't. Why would I be thinking about Chad?"

"Taylor you've seen him with plenty of girls. Why would you be so worried about him now. Why even be concerned about him now?" Gabriella asked.

"Does it even matter?" Taylor replied.

"Of course it matters." Gabriella said. "Tay you're crazy about him. Maybe you just need to show him that if he gives you a chance he'll feel the same way."

"I highly doubt it Gabriella. Chad sees me as nothing more than a close friend. The most we'll ever be is siblings." She shook her head. "I just…I just have to accept it."

"But you don't do you?" Gabriella asked.

Taylor bit her tongue. "No. No I don't." she confessed. "I don't want to be just friends or just siblings with Chad and I can't fully accept it. But for Chad's sake I have to."

"But why should you have to give up your happiness just for his? That's not fair." Gabriella shook her head.

"I know. But he's my best friend. I'd do anything for him." Taylor told her.

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

Gabriella decided to take things into her own hands. She hated seeing her best friend distraught and she hated the fact that they all just couldn't be honest with each other. Taylor has seen all of her friends find eternal happiness with their guys and were leading happy and healthy relationships. So now it was her turn to have one. Gabriella was going to be sure that Taylor would get it. Gabriella stepped into the coffee shop one early afternoon, where she knew Chad always went on his lunch break. It was show time.

"Hey Chad."

Chad spun around after grabbing his lunch to see Gabriella. "Oh hey Gabs. What brings you over here?"

"Oh you know, just the usual. Wanted to see how you were doing with the whole dating thing." Gabriella innocently shrugged her shoulders.

"Kinda single at the moment." Chad confessed, though he hated to admit it. "I haven't run into the right girl yet."

"Well maybe I could help." Gabriella offered. "I know someone who'd be a perfect match for you."

"Would you really?" Chad looked at her doubtfully.

"For sure." Gabriella nodded. "I can set something up for you two."

"You mean a blind date?" Chad asked. "I don't think so Gabs. Those are so old school."

"But they could do just the trick. Come on, just one blind date." Gabriella urged.

"I still don't know." He shook his head.

"Well it's worth a try isn't it?" Gabriella replied. "What if she is your dream girl? Then you'll never even know because you never took the time to meet her."

"Well that is true…" Chad admitted.

"So what do you say? Tonight at eight?" Gabriella said.

Well Chad really had nothing to lose. Time, maybe, but other than that nothing else. And it was worth a shot, he supposed. "Alright. I'll make dinner reservations at the diner for eight. Tell her it'll be under Danforth."

"Excellent." Gabriella responded with a smile. All was going according to plan.

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

Chad stepped into the diner, constantly fixing his tie. Yes, the bad boy was actually dressed up for once. And he couldn't be more nervous. Maybe it was just the whole blind date thing. He'd never been on one before. He always talked to a girl before going out with her. And before making out with her. And before evidently dumping her. The guy had no idea what he was getting himself into.

But as he stepped over to the designated table, his eyes widened when he recognized the girl sitting there already looking through the menu. It was Taylor! Gabriella had set him up with his best friend! This had to be some kind of joke. It had to be. Chad wanted so much to just run out. But then Gabriella would know that he bailed and that wouldn't be cool. And although Chad may be a lot of things, he wasn't one to ditch a girl. Not like this. And if Taylor somehow knew it would be him then he'd be hurting his best friend. But a date with her…? So awkward. He just had to play it cool, that's all. Act like she was just another girl.

"Taylor?" he asked as he walked over, pretending to not notice it was her right away.

Taylor gasped, most likely from the sneaking up of Chad, before turning to him. "Chad!"

"I…I didn't know you were my date tonight." Chad nearly stammered. Yeah, way to play it cool. Not.

"Gabriella set me up…" she explained almost nervously. "She said she knew a great guy I'd love to go out with." If only he knew how true that was.

Chad shrugged and decided to play along. "Well it looks like we're stuck with each other. I mean, unless you wanted to leave?" Part of him was hoping she'd say yes.

"But you already made the reservations and we haven't eaten…I don't think we should let it go to waste." Taylor replied, not wanting to see him leave before this even started. She just hoped that she wouldn't make a fool of herself in front of him.

"Um…alright." Chad decided. He slowly sat down, seeing if she'd change her mind in the process. That did not happen.

But oddly enough, the date wasn't awkward at all. At first it was, but then they both really got into it. Chad had never remembered seeing such a girlie side to Taylor before. And he was liking it. He was liking this other side he was seeing of her, the way that got nervous around each other for no reason and the way they were able to adjust to the date so easily. He had never been able to connect with another girl before like he had with Taylor. It was absolutely incredible. This was exactly what he was looking for. And he had no idea how thrilled it made Taylor. She liked that they were finally able to go on a date together and not just enjoy themselves, but also be able to see the possibility that they could be more than friends. Chad meant the world to her and she never saw as big a smile on his face as she did that night. If there was ever such a thing as the perfect first date, then that's exactly what that was. Absolutely magical.

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

The dating continued between Chad and Taylor. They seemed to be getting more serious with each other every date and they always had the time of their lives. Anyone could see that it put Taylor on cloud nine. But when they saw Chad that happy, and with a girl over the span of a couple of months, it was pure shock. That was not the Chad Danforth they all knew. Something was different with him. He wasn't the same player he always was. He didn't eye every hot girl he saw. His eyes were always on Taylor unless he had a reason to look at another girl, like if it was a waitress taking their order. He was a changed man, and obviously for the better. But every time Taylor looked at him she didn't see a difference. She still saw Chad. _Her _Chad.

Months passed and the day of Troy's wedding finally arrived. As the best man, Chad was doing his job to get his best friend then he had the same goofy smile on his face that he had since he and Taylor got together. Troy knew exactly what it was: Chad was in love. Troy should have expected Chad and Taylor would end up together some day. But ever since that first date, Troy saw how differently Chad looked at Taylor. Suddenly she wasn't his best friend anymore. She was his girlfriend. She was the light of his life. She was his everything. She wasn't his sister figure. She was Chad's. _His_ Taylor.

"Dude I haven't seen you this excited in ages." Troy chuckled at his friend. "You must really want me out of that bachelor pad we have so Taylor can move in."

"Maybe. Or maybe that's not exactly what I'm thinking." Chad replied.

"C'mon, you know you wanna kick me outta there." Troy teased. "The sooner I'm a husband the sooner you have that place all for you and Taylor where you can do anything you want."

"I know man, I know." Chad said. "But it's way more than that."

"What are you talking about man?" Troy asked. Chad actually looked serious for once!

Chad took a deep breath before standing up straight and eying Troy. "At the reception…" he took one more deep breath, "…I'm gonna propose to Taylor."

"No way man, that's awesome!" Troy exclaimed, his eyes widening with excitement. "Congrats!"

Chad smiled and hit Troy a high five. "Yeah, but she's gotta say yes first."

"Ah, she will man." Troy said like it was no big deal. "I'm surprised, I didn't think you could go this long with one girl."

Chad raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Dude don't you remember?" he chuckled. "We made a bet. You said you could settle down with a girl before my wedding. If she says yes at the reception I'd call that a victory."

"Oh right…that…" Chad said slowly. Truth be told, he'd forgotten all about the bet. After that first date with Taylor it was nothing but pure bliss for Chad. He didn't want to think about the bet now.

"Dude, you forgot didn't you?" Troy assumed.

"No, of course not." Chad said quickly. He tried his best to play along. "C'mon, we both knew I was gonna whip your butt at this. And you didn't think I could pull it off."

"You're right man. I should've believed you." Troy said sarcastically.

Chad just laughed and nudged his friend.

But what neither of them knew was that Taylor was right around the corner from them. And she had been listening the whole time.

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

"Hey man, there she is." Troy told Chad when he saw Taylor enter the reception. "Go get her man."

"I don't know." Chad shook his head. "She was avoiding me the whole wedding. It's like she doesn't want anything to do with me anymore."

"Nah, don't be silly." Troy shook his head. "Now go and pop the question. Knock her dead pal."

"Right, right…." Chad nodded quickly. He gulped and nervously pulled the case out of his suit pocket. He walked over to Taylor, whose back was facing him at the moment. He tapped her on the shoulder and she turned to face him. But something was different about her. Her eyes weren't lively or bright. They were cold and hurt.

"Oh it's you." She said icily, folding her arms.

But Chad was so nervous he barely noticed. He just wanted to get this over with and prayed she accepted. "Yeah. And you…I mean me…I mean I…I have something very important to ask." He took a deep breath and got down on one knee. He opened the velvet case he held and presented the engagement ring he had purchased for her just weeks ago. "Taylor will you marry me?"

Everyone around who heard gasped. Chad had proposed to someone! And at long last, too! There was no way any girl could say no to him. He wouldn't be a bachelor anymore. He could settle down with someone. He'd be taken…which would really stink for all the girls who wanted him.

But Taylor wasn't all the girls. Not anymore. She wasn't amused; she knew exactly what Chad was planning. She folded her arms and shook her head. "No."

Chad's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe she turned him down…and was so blunt about it. Everyone seemed just as in shock. "Wh-what?" Chad stammered.

Taylor could already feel her eyes becoming watery. She'd have to keep this as quick as possible. "You can give up the charade now Chad. I know you were only pretending to like me so you could win your silly little bet with Troy. Did you really think I wouldn't find out? How could you do that to me?"

Chad gasped. How did she find out? When did she find out? No, no, no! It wasn't supposed to go down like this! "Taylor…Tay I'd never…. You're my best friend."

"Was your best friend." She corrected. "I can't believe I was stupid enough to fall for your tricks. Chad I should've known better. I knew you since we were babies and I knew what you were like. And I still stupidly fell for you so hard…." Taylor had to pause to stop her voice from cracking. She knew she couldn't last much longer. "I can't believe you'd stoop so low, Chad. We're over. Our relationship and our friendship." She grabbed the necklace he had given her for their one month anniversary and threw it right at him. Ripped it right off from her neck. She didn't even care if anyone saw her crying as she stormed out. She just wanted to get out of there and away from Chad.

Troy ran right over to Chad, who had fallen on both of his knees and dropped the case. "Dude what are you waiting for? Go after her!" he urged.

Even though Chad was looking down he managed to shake his head. "No man." He said quietly. And he sounded so hurt. Crushed. Heartbroken. That was a side no one ever saw of Chad before. He never got emotional. "It's over."

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

A wedding should have been a happy time. Everyone should have been rejoicing. They should have been stuffing their faces with cake. They should've been doing stupid dances like the Macarena and Cotton Eyed Joe. The happy couple should've been praised and been sharing their dance by now. But they weren't. Troy's wedding was nothing like that. And he wasn't sure what hurt him more: that what was supposed to be the best day of his life was ruined, or that his friend was just turned down in front of hundreds of guests and now there were two heartbroken people at the reception.

Luckily, Troy was a master of ideas. He wasn't one to mope around for long. Chad and Taylor were going to get back together. Then Troy could cut the cake and dance with his bride. Alright, half of his reasons were purely selfish but hey, who could blame him? It was his day. And he wanted his friend to be happy. So what he did was sent someone into the girls bathroom to convince Taylor to come out for cake while Troy hooked up a microphone and snuck it over to Chad. He had the mike behind him so Chad wouldn't see it. But the curly-haired boy was so depressed he probably wouldn't notice if it was stuffed up his nose. Troy turned on the microphone and sat down next to Chad. He held one end closer to Chad so his voice would echo through the sound system more than Troy's.

"Hey man." Troy sighed a greeting, rubbing his friend on the back. "Everything ok?"

"No. No everything's not ok." Chad snapped with a sniff, which everyone could hear. The guests all stopped dancing or doing what they were doing and looked around to figure out where the voice was coming from. All they knew was that they heard someone speaking. And that someone was about to pour his heart out.

"She can't stay mad at you forever." Troy said.

"No Troy, she can!" Chad insisted. "You don't get it. If I never agreed to that stupid bet then maybe things would be better."

"If you never agreed to the stupid bet maybe you wouldn't have given Taylor a shot." Troy offered.

Chad sniffed again. "I just…I never looked at her that way before. Like girlfriend material. She was always like my sister. The one person I could go to for anything in the world and even if everyone else was against me she'd be the one person on my side. But now she hates my guts and doesn't want anything to do with me. I wrecked it all."

"You're being too hard on yourself." Troy said.

"So I'm not!" Chad argued. "Dude you don't know what it's like. It took me this long to find my dream girl and she was under my nose the whole time. I'm so stupid, I should've noticed it sooner! I should've given Taylor a chance. We should've started dating years ago!"

Troy nodded and looked at him concerned. "She means a lot to you doesn't she?"

"She means everything to me!" Chad exclaimed. "I want things to be right again. I want it all to work out. I did forget about the bet ok? Cause after that first date with Taylor nothing mattered anymore besides her. She was always so happy and we had fun together. It wasn't awkward or weird or anything. Everything was perfect. Then I had to go and screw things up."

"You know you're not the same guy you were before Chad. You changed." Troy stated.

"I changed because of Taylor. Because I felt like I had no reason to have one night stands or be some kinda jerk. I had someone that actually mattered to me." Chad replied.

"And you'd do anything for her wouldn't you?" Troy asked.

"Of course I would! Dude I'd give up everything I own and live on the streets for her. I'd spend my life savings on Taylor. I'd get the stupidest job out there if it meant she and I could be together." Chad answered. "I love that woman Troy. I love her more than anything. And I just went and lost her because of the dumbest thing on the planet!" Chad took a few deep breaths as he got everything out. The room was in complete silence. No one ever expected Chad to pour his heart out like that. He obviously meant every word he said.

"I've seen dumber."

Chad's eyes widened when he heard that voice. It was scratchy and cracking but he knew it from anywhere. He turned around and through his bloodshot eyes, across the room he could see Taylor standing in the doorway with the same look. Her face was as tear-stained as his was and her eyes were red and puffy. But Chad didn't see that as a difference. She still looked like his Taylor to him.

"Tay…" he breathed.

Taylor let out a breath, or perhaps a sigh, before taking a few steps across the room over to Chad. She looked like she was getting over her emotions. "Do…do you really mean everything you just said?"

Chad blinked. "You heard all that?"

Taylor nodded. "I heard everything. Chad do you mean what you said?"

"I meant every word of it." He replied almost right away. "Taylor without you…I don't even think I have a soul. I feel like crap. I don't feel like I have anything to my name. When I'm with you I feel like I'm on the top of the world, like nothing else except us matters."

"I still can't believe you'd do something so stupid." She shook her head.

"I know. I know." Chad nodded, trying to hold back another sniff. He wasn't going to show water works in front of Taylor.

"But…" she looked down before she looked at Chad and made eye contact with him. "But I never heard anything so sweet either. I…I don't think I ever heard someone care so much about me."

Did that…did that mean what Chad thought it meant? He wasn't going to waste another minute. "I love you Taylor."

They pulled each other into a tight embrace, almost feeling like they'd both start crying again as they held onto each other, feeling like they'd never let go. "I love you too Chad." Taylor replied. "ever since I can remember."

"I just wish I could see that before. It just…it just took me so friggen long to realize the perfect girl was my best friend. I had all those one night stands for no reason." Chad complained.

"No you didn't." she shook her head. "You were confused. You weren't sure what you were looking for in a girl. You just wanted to be happy."

Chad nodded. But he didn't want to spend another minute discussing this. "Tay can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?"

Taylor still held onto him, her arms wrapped securely around his neck before pulling back slightly to meet his gaze. "I can do more than that Chad. I can find it in my heart to say yes."

No way…did she just say what Chad thought she said? This had to be a dream. And if it was, he did not want to be pinched! "Taylor…" he breathed, "Tay does that mean…that you'll marry me?"

Taylor nodded rapidly. "Yes. Yes of course!" she exclaimed.

Chad didn't waste any more time. He wrapped his arms as tight as he could around her and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. The guests erupted with cheers and applause at the sight, watching the newly engaged couple share their kiss. It was so romantic…and dramatic.

Gabriella smiled at the couple before making her way over to Troy. She had done her job really well of getting Taylor back into the reception, at least she thought so. She rested her arm on Troy's shoulder, leaning up against him. "Look at them Troy." She cooed. "I don't think they've ever been happier. Isn't this just wonderful?"

"Actually…I think it's kind of depressing." Troy admitted.

Gabriella raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "Depressing? How?"

Troy sighed heavily before turning to Gabriella and letting his frustration out, if anything else, to get it over with and so they could move on with the reception. "I've been upstaged at my own wedding!"

* * *

Not sure how good of my work this was, if it was one of the best or not. lol But you know me, I gotta end stuff like this on a funny note. And did you really think I'd end it with Taylor rejecting Chad? Not a chance. I'm a strong supporter of those two like you have no idea. They seriously belong together. So, what I'm thinking of doing with these story type things is actually ask for you guys to send in suggestions and I can turn them into chapters. I've seen it done with a few other stories, like people suggest a setting and random objects and all that. So if you guys have any suggestions, feel free to send them in. I'd love to try and add some more to this, at least get 15 chapters done if anything else. But just one suggestion, no one bring anything with Taylor proposing to Chad...let's just say I got other plans for that one. 0=) Well, eventually anyway. I don't wanna give anything away. Ok I guess there wouldn't be much to give away since I don't have an exact idea yet, but basically what I'm saying here is that I do plan to use it once in here but not yet. Hope that makes sense enough. So yeah, I think that should deal with everything. So for everyone who has been following this around, sorry again for keeping you all waiting and really hope you enjoyed this...indescribable chapter. xD


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